National House Construction Cost Index

The index relates to costs ruling on the first day of each month.											
NATIONAL HOUSE CONSTRUCTION COST INDEX;  Up until October 2006 it was known as the National House Building Index														
Oct 2000 data;  The index since October, 2000, includes the first phase of an agreement following a review of rates of pay and grading structures for the Construction Industry and the first phase increase under the PPF. 																						
April, May and June 2001; Figures revised in July 2001due to 2% PPF Revised Terms.																	
March 2002; The drop in the March 2002 figure is due to a decrease in the rate of PRSI from 12% to 10¾%  with effect from 1 March 2002.											
The  index from April 2002 excludes the one-off lump sum payment equal to 1% of basic pay on 1 April 2002 under the PPF.											
April, May, June 2003;  Figures revised in August'03 due to the backdated increase of 3% from 1April 2003 under the National Partnership Agreement 'Sustaining Progress'.						
The increases in April and October 2006 index are due to Social Partnership Agreement "Towards 2016". 																				
March 2011; The drop in the March 2011 figure is due to a 7.5% decrease in labour costs. 			
Methodology in producing the Index																			
Prior to October 2006:										
The index relates solely to labour and material costs which should normally not exceed 65% of the total price of a house. It does not include items such as overheads, profit, interest charges, land development etc. 										
The House Building Cost Index monitors labour costs in the construction industry and the cost of building materials. It does not include items such as overheads, profit, interest charges or land development. The labour costs include insurance cover and the building material costs include V.A.T. Coverage:											
The type of construction covered is a typical 3 bed-roomed, 2 level local authority house and the index is applied on a national basis.							
Data Collection:																							
The labour costs are based on agreed labour rates, allowances etc. The building material prices are collected at the beginning of each month from the same suppliers for the same representative basket.												
Calculation:											
Labour and material costs for the construction of a typical 3 bed-roomed house are weighted together to produce the index.   								
Post October 2006:										
The name change from the House Building Cost Index to the House Construction Cost Index was introduced in October 2006 when the method of assessing the materials sub-index was changed from pricing a basket of materials (representative of a typical 2 storey 3 bedroomed local authority house) to the CSO Table 3 Wholesale Price Index. The new Index does maintains continuity with the old HBCI. 											
The most current data is published on these sheets. Previously published data may be subject to revision. Any change from the originally published data will be highlighted by a comment on the cell in question. These comments will be maintained for at least a year after the date of the value change.	
Oct 2008 data; Decrease due to a fall in the Oct Wholesale Price Index.	

Tags: construction, cost, house, index
Organization: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage