How much does it cost to build a wooden house in Russia now ?

According to relevant reports in the Russian media, since the beginning of this year, the cost of building wooden houses has risen by 10-15% on average. But with full finishes and equipment included, the increase could be much higher.

How has the cost of building timber homes changed over the first quarter of 2024, how much does it cost now and what will happen to prices next?

According to experts, the first quarter on the construction market of country houses made of wood passed without price fluctuations. On average, since the beginning of 2024, the cost of construction of wooden houses ‘in the warm contour’ has increased by 10-15%, this is an annual pre-seasonal rise in price, according to Dmitry Apanasenko, head of the production direction ‘Domokomplekty’ of the company ‘Tekhnonikol’. To a greater extent, the increase in cost is due to the increase in labour remuneration and prices of construction materials: ‘Rebar has become more expensive, the growth was 25-32%, in physical terms prices reach 48-50 thousand rubles per tonne. General construction cement M400 increased in price by 31%, sheet glass - by 23%, concrete - by 16%, board and sawn timber - by 10-15%, roofing, asphalt shingles - by 10%, window blocks from PVC profiles - by 5%’, - says the expert.

According to the data of the Association of Wooden Housebuilding (ADD), in the first three months of 2024, the construction of frame houses and timber frame houses rose by 10-15% on average. ‘Such dynamics is explained by both seasonality and the increase in prices for certain types of materials (timber, concrete, metal),’ explained ADD board member Yulia Yurlova. - For example, wood has increased in price by about 10% and now one cubic metre of boards costs on average 19-25 thousand rubles’.

In addition, the cost of construction is pushed up by difficulties with logistics and labour. With the onset of warm weather, the list of works to be carried out has expanded and the demand for workers has intensified. But at the same time there is a shortage of construction workers, among whom there are traditionally many newcomers from neighbouring countries.

‘The market is experiencing a shortage of qualified construction teams, which is also the reason for the increase in the cost of construction and installation services. Customers are forced to fit into the schedule of construction teams, such waiting always takes time,’ added Dmitry Apanasenko.

Among the trends that affect the construction process and the final cost, experts note an increase in the delivery time of individual components or finishing materials. For example, the delivery time of finishing boards from Japan used to be three months, but now it is eight months. ‘It is necessary to order some types of equipment and materials in advance,’ said Yulia Yurlova.

At the same time, the price increase, taking into account complete finishing and equipment, could be much higher since the beginning of the year and could reach 70-100 per cent for some items. According to ADD, this is due to the fact that in the construction of a turnkey house (engineering systems, electronics, complete finishing) remains a large proportion of imported components. For example, for European boiler room equipment the price increase can be twofold: a boiler for a German-made boiler room will cost about 370 thousand rubles against 190 thousand rubles last year.

Similar dynamics for some types of imported finishing materials, for example, tiles. As for sanitary ware, it is mainly chosen from ‘availability’. Good analogues appear in cabinet furniture, the prices for which can be half as low as in Europe, while the quality is at the same level. ‘It is more difficult with engineering systems,’ says Yulia Yurlova.

The increase in construction costs will continue as the high season in the countryside housing market is ahead, experts say. According to ADD forecasts, prices may increase by another 15-20% during the season. At the same time, experts do not see prerequisites for a sharp increase, which happened, for example, in the pandemic. At that time, there was a large deficit of wood and high demand in the domestic and foreign markets, which led to a price hike. Now the demand is concentrated on the domestic market.

The waiting period for house sets may increase due to high demand not only from citizens, but also from the tourism industry and developers. There is a possibility that during the season this may cause a long waiting period for the production of house sets and the time of completion of wooden houses.