The rise in the price of the cement casing once again shakes the construction sector and keeps it in the uncertainty of how this will affect the cost of the projects that are currently being developed.
The president of the Dominican Association of Home Builders and Developers (Acoprovi), Jorge Montalvo, He stated that he did not understand the reasons for the increase in the price of the cement sleeve, if “fuel has been down, the dollar as well and international transportation costs have also dropped significantly.”
Montalvo expressed the concern that the sector has regarding these increases, which he explains occur at a time when he felt a certain relief, since materials such as rod, PVC and others had registered considerable drops in their prices and expectations for the future were positive.
“We do not understand the reasons for the increase and we are very concerned about the increase at this time,” Montalvo told Listín Diario.
He explained that the price of cement impacts the cost of a square meter of construction by about 20% and added that this increase represents a 1.83% increase in the housing cost index (ICV), which would erase the downward trend. for the months of August and September, in addition to projecting the upward trend of the next report to be published by the National Statistics Office (ONE).
Called
The president of the Confederation of Small and Medium Construction Companies (Copymecon), Eliseo Cristopher, stated that since 2021, the sector has felt an upward escalation in the prices of construction materials This has led the sector to a difficult situation and although they have registered growth in their activities, they have also managed difficult situations in the costs of the projects.
He remembered that, At the beginning of this 2022, Copymecon pointed out that the courts would remain full of people with problems because the builders could not deliver the homes agreed upon, as a result of “selling cheap homes and buying expensive materials”, which made the economic situation unsustainable for small businessmen and forced them to transfer these increases to buyers, which has created problems, since they cannot pay for these either increments.
“Right now we have Proconsumidor and the Ombudsman full of complaints against small builders “indicated Cristopher and pointed out that when they saw the drops in materials they were filled with a certain optimism, which has been diluted with this new increase in the cement cover.
He added that the sector also appreciated the Central Bank’s announcement that the monetary policy rate would not have new increases, which renewed its optimism. however, Cristopher expressed that the increase in the price of cement (between 40 and 45 pesos) once again complicates the situation in the sector.
The leader of small and medium builders made a call to Proconsumidor and the Ombudsman so that, as they made the announcement to join forces to protect buyers, “they fall behind, not the contractors or the developer, because what we do is transmit, if we buy at high prices we sell at high prices, if we buy at cheap price we sell at a cheap price, so they must fall back to the suppliers and manufacturers of building materials.
In conclusion, he said that the construction sector does not feel very optimistic with the prospects that are glimpsed for the sector at the moment.
About RD$500
The president of Copymecon indicated that with the rise registered in the price of the cement casing, it is located close to RD$500.00.
He added that the construction sector does not feel very optimistic with the prospects that are glimpsed for at the moment.