Stopping an entire economy overnight is no small feat, especially when this forced break lasts several months.

Among other economic consequences, the Covid-19 pandemic and the health restrictions that had to be taken have taken many sectors of activity by surprise, and in particular that of the building sector, causing a surge in the prices of raw materials and the delays for them. forward.

Hitting professionals hard, this crisis inevitably has repercussions on individuals.

Too many requests, not enough offers

Several factors have contributed to this global phenomenon of temporary scarcity.

Of course, the “stop and go” policy pursued by many states in 2020 is primarily responsible, as Matthieu Burin, co-founder of Hemea, an architecture studio, explains: “Once at a standstill, large production plants cannot restart immediately ”, not to mention the fact that the necessary staff was mostly on short-time working.

However, "the economic recovery was much stronger than expected, especially in the United States and Asia," continues the works engineer.

Logical consequence: a disruption of supply which created a bottleneck of orders and led to the increase in the prices of raw materials and delivery times.

Hikes everywhere

All building materials have been affected by this phenomenon. Some have even seen their prices explode, as confirmed by estimates made in the second quarter of 2021 by Hemea. Topping the list, the price of aluminum jumped 61%, compared to + 57% for steel, + 51% for copper and + 48% for rough lumber. Insulating roof panels increased by 40%, while plaster gained 22%, as did tiling at + 20%, while paint showed + 10 to + 15%.

It is necessary to add the extension of the delivery times.

“While it used to take 3 days to deliver plaster, we have now gone to 3 weeks”, according to Mohamed Dahrouch, operational director of Valoptim, a builder of new ecological housing in Île-de-France.

The same is the case for metal, whose lead time doubled to 6 weeks.

Result: it takes more than an additional month to deliver a good.

The bill climbs

But who is suffering all these increases? The artisans obviously, but also, by extension, their customers. The work estimates reflect the increase in the cost of materials but also the completion times, which further increase the bill. For example, Hemea estimated that the complete repair of a 7 m2 bathroom, electricity and plumbing included, normally amounts to around 17,750 euros, against an invoice of 18,940 euros in the current context. Similarly, Mohamed Dahrouch recalls that "the works represent 65% of the total cost of the construction of a building". Valoptim therefore foresees a small price increase for future buyers of transactions currently being negotiated, knowing that real estate has already been booming since 2020 ...

If the phenomenon is global and very real, it must nevertheless be qualified.

A recent survey, carried out by the international consulting firm Simon-Kucher & Partners among around fifty French managers in the construction sector, reveals that only half of the manufacturers surveyed have applied a price increase.

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Anticipation, the key word

To limit the repercussions of these logistical concerns, professionals insist on preparing the site upstream.

"Individuals who have a construction or renovation project must anticipate as much as possible by ordering the necessary materials as soon as possible", advises the operational director of Valoptim.

And the co-founder of Hemea adds: “Deadlines are the sinews of war on a construction site.

The slightest delay on a trade and everything is delayed.

It is therefore imperative to carry out a retro planning.

Likewise, faced with the various price increases, he recommends “making technical choices” in order to favor the materials least impacted by the shortage.

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