Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

The EU embargo on Russian timber was preceded by an export stop from Russia.

High timber prices have been known since last year ;-) Let's see how it will affect this time.

Overall uncomfortable times for building a house. As a builder, I would currently be nervous.

The EU embargo against Russian wood was preceded by an export stop from Russia.

High wood prices have been known since last year ;-) Let's see how this affects things this time.

Overall uncomfortable times for house building. As a builder, I would currently be nervous.

Maybe house building companies / general contractors will then disclose their material prices or put them under the responsibility of the builders. That would be a good step and on the one hand remove the feeling of being taken advantage of and on the other hand reduce the risk of material price increases for the company.

Yesterday something came up in my feed about the insolvency of an Austrian construction company (Scalahaus or something like that). With 120 affected homeowners, it doesn’t sound that tiny either (so not a "we build 3 houses a year" company).

To be honest, I don’t really follow whether this happens more frequently or not, but it is somewhat creepy. Especially since the reasons (the fixed prices led to losses due to sharply rising costs) don’t seem to be easing so far.

Fixed prices probably won’t exist anymore in the future.... I found a brief report about it Apart from the R. family, almost 60 other affected parties are still waiting for their houses to be completed... The main cause for the bankruptcy? The massive price increases in the industry could not be passed on to the customers due to fixed price commitments, it says. Such promises will no longer be made in the future. “We bought our house based on 2020 prices. Now massive additional costs are coming our way”, says R. The residential construction loan starts running in September. “It will be tight for our young family.”

A renowned local company filed for insolvency with us as well 1-2 months ago. Fixed price commitments in 2020 and 2021 led to losses in 2021 and 2022 and ultimately to insolvency...

Maybe then home construction companies / general contractors will disclose their material prices or put them under the responsibility of the clients. That would be a good step and on one hand removes the feeling of being taken advantage of, and on the other hand reduces the risk of material price increases for the company.

I don’t know if that’s a good step. The last thing I personally want is to also be responsible for material orders. And "purchasing at any cost, the client pays" will also find few friends. There are reasons why fixed prices are so popular. They allow reasonable calculation for the client and the bank. Prices with material indexes are, in my opinion, a pig in a poke. I know you are frustrated with your Rhombus formwork, but I doubt that many clients who build with general contractors want to get involved in that. The clientele that wants something like that usually doesn’t build with general contractors but rather with self-management and a lot of personal work.

The clientele that wants something like this usually does not build with a general contractor but rather with self-contracting and a lot of own work

... in that respect, that's probably how it will turn out for us. At least awarding big components like the shell construction, roof, screed, heating, sanitation. Along with that comes the disclosure of material prices, so both parties are on board. It doesn't help me if I currently get standard executions for 4000 euros / sqm, I can't afford that. Then I'd rather accept the extra effort and the need to familiarize myself with the subject gratefully.