Construction in Serbia gets 20 percent more expensive — contractors expect further rises next year

Construction services in Serbia have become markedly more expensive this year: 70 percent of contractors raised their prices, most by 20 percent, driven by costlier materials and fuel — Danas reports, citing research by the online construction platform Daibau.rs.

Serbia’s largest online construction platform, as Danas describes it, carried out a survey during September on price movements in construction, with several hundred contractors from various construction professions and trades taking part. The research shows that this year 70 percent of contractors raised their prices, most by 20 percent.

Even though demand is not falling — over 50 percent of respondents say demand this year is higher than last year, nearly 40 percent say it is the same and fewer than 10 percent report fewer orders — contractors expect further rises: a full 78 percent will raise prices by 10 percent next year, although almost no one expects rises above 30 percent in that period, according to Danas.

Price rises are driven most by costlier materials and fuel, while general inflation has had a visibly smaller impact than these two factors. Among trades, 100 percent of metal-construction contractors raised their prices, along with 88 percent of furniture and carpentry masters and 79 percent of painters.