House rebuild costs rise by 6%, SCSI survey shows
National average re-build costs have increased by an average of 6% over the past year, the latest Guide to House Rebuilding Costs from the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland reveals.
The Guide to House Rebuilding Costs is used by homeowners to calculate the rebuilding costs of their home for insurance purposes.
The SCSI stressed that homeowners should understand the difference between a valuation and rebuilding costs.
A market valuation is the expected amount you could get for your property if it was placed on the open market, but the rebuilding costs are associated with the cost of building or replacing the dwelling.
The SCSI says these figures can be very different.
Today’s guide shows that rebuild costs are up by 8% in Limerick, Cork and Galway over the last 12 months, while the rise in Dublin was a more moderate 5%.
The society said it believes this is linked to increased competition in Dublin, while it also reflects what is happening in the wider property market with prices falling in Dublin and still rising in the regions.
While price increases may have moderated in Dublin, it still has the highest rebuild costs.
The cost of rebuilding a three-bed semi in Dublin, is €208,000, while the cost of rebuilding a similar house in the North West of the country is €130,000.
Micheál Mahon, Vice President of the SCSI, said the cost of rebuilding rose because of the increase in labour rates due to the shortage of construction workers, the impact of new building regulations and the costs associated with disposing of demolition waste.
“The construction sector is experiencing high levels of activity and this increase is having an inflationary effect on construction prices. There are simply not enough construction workers to meet demand and as a result wage costs are rising,” Mr Mahon stated.
“More recently, changes to ventilation requirements for new builds came into effect this year and while they will help reduce heating costs in the long run, this has contributed to the rise in building costs. Thirdly, the costs of disposing of building waste have continued to rise,” he added.
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