Cost of materials and supply chain issues could push up price of three bed-semi by up to €15,000

Thursday, 27 May 2021 14:21

That's according to a survey by the Irish Home Builders Association

The IHBA say the price of materials such as bricks, concrete, timber and steel could lock more people out of the market.

The group say further increases are expected in the second half of the year and are calling for an extension of the Help to Buy scheme and controls on consumer credit and lending to take the increasing cost of building a house into account.

Speaking to RedFM News, Conor O'Connell from the Southern Branch of the Construction Industry Federation says the issues could result in less homes being built:

"12,000 to 15,000 per unit, unfortunately will have to have to be passed on to the end user, but unfortunately in many areas and for many different types of products, it may not be possible to pass on those cost increases which will mean in the fact that there will be a delay in housing construction and could affect the commercial viability of many different types of houses."