QCOSTARICA – If in 2005 to build a home in Costa Rica cost about US$400 per square meter for 2014 it was around US$700.
Elfinancierocr.com reports that the single most cost increase is labor, 80% over the same period, according to analysis “7 realities of construction in Costa Rica can not ignore” made by the firm BildTeck.
What causes this and how it affects increasing the final consumer?
In Costa Rica labor is at least 4 times thanto build a house in countries like Australia and the US. While in the US the number of man hours needed to build a house is 9.4 hours per square meter, in Costa Rica it takes between 40 and 60.
Low labor productivity, on top of the cost of building materials, social charges and high costs of other materials such as energy, are preventing firms from being more competitive in an industry where both end house prices for completed works and gray works, exceed those in neighboring countries.
The price of materials such as cement, “… are added to other factors, such as rising inflation, which also pushes up prices … The cost of labor and the amount of man hours needed are added to the impact costs on the sector. ”
“In 20 years the price of cement has quadrupled, there is a shortage of local competition that pushes those prices and resents the sector,” said Federico Amador, founder of BildTeck.
In Costa Rica the supply of cement is concentrated in just two companies, Holcim and Cemex.
Source: Elfinancierocr.com
