Boom in building materials market drives increase in raw material prices
23:27
The prices of building materials are currently showing a sharp increase, which is not reflected in public statistics. This is the effect of changes in world markets. The more expensive materials include mainly wood and metals, but experts are increasingly talking about the shortage of polystyrene or sand. These changes also affect the Polish economy - according to PSB data, the prices of steel and wood elements, i.e. OSB boards (40 percent y/y at peak), metal roof elements (12.5 percent), and installations increased the most among construction products. (10.9 percent). The increase in material prices may bring record-high housing prices in the future, which is already being ruled out by developers themselves. Such a situation is not conducive to the implementation of investments and requires quick purchasing decisions. The prices of building materials are rising not only due to a shortage of warehouses but also due to the increasing costs of transport, energy, labor, and production. Due to the extended waiting time for the delivery of selected goods, investors have to plan their purchases of building materials. Economists argue, however, that the market will stabilize - and the rise in prices, although rapid, will not last long.
“In recent months, we have observed a rapid increase in the prices of building materials, especially those related to metals and wood, such as OSB boards. In the case of metals, since the beginning of the year, we have had a dynamic increase in prices on global markets, especially on the London Stock Exchange. In the case of wood, in the past months we had a problem mainly due to the shortage of wood,” Jakub Rybacki, an economist at the Polish Economic Institute, said.
“Now prices started to rise at an uncontrolled pace. The wood shortage was a rather short-lived phenomenon – however the fact that the US imports more wood has affected European price lists. Currently, the problems are also accompanied by the problem of the shortage of expanded polystyrene, from which, for example, polystyrene blocks are made,” Rybacki added.
