Construction material prices drive building cost inflation to 5.1% - GSS

The cost of building in Ghana increased in September 2026 as rising prices of construction materials and equipment continued to put pressure on homeowners and contractors.

Data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) show that building cost inflation rose to 5.1% in September, up from 4.6% in August 2026. However, the rate remained below the 9.7% recorded in September 2025.

According to the GSS Prime Building Cost Index (PBCI) report, the increase was mainly driven by higher prices of construction materials, which rose by 6.5% in September, compared with 5.8% in August.

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Reinforcement materials recorded the highest price increase at 29%, followed by plumbing materials at 27.5%, small tools at 24.8% and roofing sheets at 23.4%.

However, some key building materials became cheaper over the period. Steel prices fell by 8.8%, while cement prices declined by 6.1% compared with September 2025, offering some relief to people undertaking construction projects.

The report also showed that labour costs declined by 3.2%, with skilled labour costs falling by 1.7% and unskilled labour costs dropping by 5.7%. In contrast, the cost of machinery and equipment used in construction increased by 19.1%.

The GSS explained that construction materials account for 76.5% of the items used to measure building costs, making price changes in this category a major driver of overall construction costs.

On a month-on-month basis, building costs increased by 0.03% between August and September. However, the annual inflation rate has been rising steadily since March 2026, when it stood at 2.2%.

The figures suggest that while people building homes may benefit from lower cement and steel prices, they could face higher costs for roofing, plumbing and other construction materials.

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The GSS report tracks the prices of 406 construction items from 489 outlets across 16 markets in Ghana.

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