The increase in wages increased construction costs/ The construction market marked a slight expansion, but material prices fell
Construction costs in Albania have continued to show a slight upward trend. According to official data, the Construction Cost Index reached 114.1, taking the fourth quarter of 2021 as the base period.
In the annual analysis, the change in the index results in 1.2%, a level similar to that recorded in the same period a year earlier. The largest price increase was recorded in the group “Wage costs”, which marked an increase of 6%, indicating the impact of labor costs in the construction sector. This group is followed by “Machinery costs” and “Other costs” with 1.8% each, as well as “Transport costs” with 1.6%.
On the other hand, the group “Material costs” decreased by 0.9% on an annual basis. Within this group, construction materials fell by 1.1%, plumbing and ventilation materials by 0.6%, and electrical and communication materials by 0.1%. This indicates a slight easing of price pressure for some categories of basic construction materials.
In terms of quarterly changes, the Construction Cost Index recorded a very slight increase of 0.1% compared to the third quarter of 2025, indicating a relative stabilization of costs in the last period of the year. In this comparison, the largest increase was again recorded in wage costs, which increased by 1.4%. This was followed by machinery costs and other costs with 0.3% each, as well as transport costs with 0.1%.
Meanwhile, material costs recorded a quarterly decline of 0.5%. Within this group, construction materials fell by 0.6%, plumbing and ventilation materials by 0.5%, and electrical and communication materials by 0.3%.
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