UK construction intelligence
Build costs, made easier to understand.
Track national material-price movements, common products, trade pay, regional activity and the market forces affecting development, refurbishment and conversion projects.
National picture
UK material-price movement
These official indices show whether material prices have risen or fallen. They are market indicators, not merchant shelf prices or a percentage change in the cost of a whole project.
Cost movement
Materials trend
If “All construction materials” says prices are up 6%, the overall basket of materials is around 6% more expensive than a year ago. It does not mean the full cost of a building project has risen by 6%.
How can I use it?Use it as a quick market check when reviewing supplier increases and quotes. Your actual price will depend on the products, quantities, supplier and delivery location.
Source publication: monthly
Material watch
Largest material price changes
Source publication: monthly
Explore the official data
Select a material and view
Compare price movement for commonly used construction, refurbishment and finishing materials.
Producer price indices are published monthly. Five-year views use annual averages. The plaster-products category includes construction boards, sheets and panels, but is broader than plasterboard alone.
View the selected official sourceRegional picture
Compare activity and overall skilled-trade employee pay
Choose an English region, Wales or Scotland to compare quarterly activity and annual employee pay for the overall skilled-trades group. These are different indicators and neither is a regional material-price index. Matching Northern Ireland data is not available in these ONS tables.
Construction activity
Regional activity
Source publication: quarterly
View ONS regional activity dataEmployee pay indicator
Skilled construction and building trades
Source publication: annually
View ONS regional employee-pay dataIndividual trade pay
UK employee pay by trade
Select a trade to compare median gross hourly and weekly employee pay.
Source publication: annually. The individual-trade figures are UK-wide because detailed regional occupation estimates can be unavailable for smaller samples.
View ONS employee pay by occupationMarket intelligence
What is shaping property and build costs?
Practical landlord, refurbishment, development, finance and major construction coverage in one place.
Indices show movement, not current merchant shelf prices or project-specific £/m² costs. Regional activity measures the current-price value of work completed. Employee-pay figures are not self-employed day rates, contractor charge-out rates or total project labour costs. This dashboard is not a tender, valuation or replacement for professional cost advice.
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