The pressure on construction budgets has already been building for years, with the cost of key materials steadily rising across new housing projects and renovations. Builders have been dealing with more expensive plastic piping, pricier steel and higher timber costs, all while trying to keep projects on schedule and within budget for homeowners who are already stretched.
Now one of the big paint suppliers in the local market has notified its customer base that it plans to increase prices and add a fuel surcharge, linking the decision to rising crude oil costs that sit behind many paint formulations. Industry groups say this move is unlikely to be isolated and suggest that across the sector, paint prices could rise by as much as 10%, on top of existing material cost jumps of around 36% for plastic pipes and 10 to 15% for steel and timber.
For builders and renovators, this looks like another squeeze on already tight margins and project budgets, and it seems likely to feed into higher overall construction costs and longer negotiations with clients. The full impact will depend on how many suppliers follow with similar increases and how quickly the broader geopolitical tensions affecting oil markets start to ease.
