“Of course it will be difficult if all of this takes place at the same time,” said CEO Stefanie Christina Huber at the Sparkasse Oberösterreich housing talk on Wednesday in Linz.
According to Erste Group analyst Gudrun Egger, at least one of these problems could solve itself in the coming year. “Construction prices will stabilize again in 2023 after above-average price increases,” said Egger.
For Egger, the current inflation rate is largely due to the pandemic. The tense supply chains would have tightened the supply so that it could not keep up with the demand.
Price gouging in the construction sector
The pressure is now easing, however, and producer prices will fall accordingly. According to Egger’s estimates, inflation in 2023 will remain “well above” the two percent target set by the European Central Bank at 5.6 percent.
Housing Councilor Manfred Haimbuchner (FP) spoke of “price gouging in the construction sector” during his presentation. Price increases of up to 25 percent would have put subsidized housing under pressure. In addition, CO2 pricing and increased labor costs would do the rest. However, the construction output must continue to be “kept stable” so that the number of subsidized apartments does not fall below 1,500. According to Haimbuchner, this is the “absolute lower limit”.
Source: Nachrichten
