If we compare the construction sector in Hungary with Austria and the Czech Republic – countries of roughly the same size – the figures show a significant difference. Austria reached six times higher production in 2016 with a similar number of employees, while construction output in the Czech Republic was three times greater.
The biggest problem is efficiency, said Koji at the conference hosted by business news daily Világgazdaság. In the last 10 years, services and capacities in construction were barely needed, and the sudden growth in demand has caught the sector by surprise, he observed.
The current situation on the construction market will force players to improve efficiency, Koji predicted. The value of output in the construction industry reached HUF 2,500 billion last year, which is a nearly 30% increase year-on-year.
As for construction prices, these have risen by 5.2%, and by 10-12% for home construction, Koji noted. While it is true that home prices have grown much faster than this rate, the causes for this are not related to the construction sector, he added.
While last year wages in the construction sector grew by 13.1%, this is still not enough to attract a sufficient labor force, which remains the major obstacle to the further expansion of the sector, according to a poll conducted by ÉVOSZ.
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