If you ask most Nigerians what their biggest dream is, in terms of ownership of property, not a few of them would likely mention that of building a house before remembering to say anything about buying a car.

This is because not a few them believe that having a roof over one’s head is the biggest dream that everyone need to work hard towards, in order to achieve the dream of being called a landlord or landlady.

Unfortunately, when the issue of building a house comes up at any forum, what easily come to mind is the rising prices of building materials and the huge cost of buying a land upon which the house would be erected.

Whenever the discussion comes up, several things come to mind. Things like the somewhat unabated soaring prices of cement, sand, nails, roofing sheets, window and door frames, wood and many more.

They are such essential materials that a house cannot be said to have being completed without land and the foregoing essential building materials.

However, with the soaring prices of building materials in the recent time, such dream may not be realised.
In fact, in a fiercely competitive housing market where prices continue to skyrocket, not few Nigerian buyers increasingly believe that their dreams of homeownership are unattainable.

Not only that, those that have ongoing housing projects at hand may likely abandon the projects as prices of building materials keep soaring high.

According to analysts, these are not the best of times for potential homeowners and developers as the unprecedented rising increase in prices of building materials across the country may exacerbate the prevailing housing deficit in the low and medium income segments of the real estate market.

Given the escalating prices of building materials across markets, not few Nigerians, particularly salary earners, can still be said to have a glimmer of hope of building houses they can call their own.

To buttress the foregoing view, Price Survey embarked on by Daily Independent, reveals that the cost of building materials in Nigeria in the recent time has become a source of concern because it has a direct impact on the affordability and accessibility of housing for the typical Nigerian.

This is as the cost of building materials has risen dramatically in recent years, generating a rippling effect in the real estate business. For instance, the prices of wires in Nigeria have remained astronomical.

A bundle of flexible binding wire costs around N5,300-6,000, whereas a 10kg roll costs around N43,500-47,000.

In a similar vein, a bundle of firm binding wire, costs between N6,300 and N6,800, with a 10kg coil costing between N47,000 and N48,000.

Still in a similar vein, the cost of cement, which is a vital component in the construction of buildings, has remained unaffordable since the last few years.

As gathered from a market survey, 50kg-pack of Dangote cement cost N3,500 to N4,500, 50kg-pack of Elephant cement cost N4,200, 50kg-pack of Eagle cement costs N4,250, 50kg-pack of UNICEM cement costs N4,200, 50kg-pack of Cellular Concrete cement cost N3,900 and 50kg-pack of Ibeto cement costs N4,000. Also, 50kg-pack of Ashaka cement cost N4,000, 50kg-pack of Wapco cement cost N4,400 and 50kg-pack of Sokoto cement costsN4,050.

On the current price of tiles (Per Square Meter) in Nigeria, there is a large variety of floor and wall tiles available, each with its own texture, size, quality, and design.

Here are some examples of tiles typically available in the market, while vitrified tiles price of 300.300 pack cost N4000-5,000 and 450.450 pack cost N5,100-6500.

Regarding polished porcelain, the prices show that 40 x 40 cost N2,800 – N3,000, 60 X 120 High Gloss Porcelain Slab Tiles cost N4,000 – N5,500, and 300.600 Wall Porcelain Tiles cost N5,000 – N10,000.

As for granite tiles, the prices per square meter cut across 30 x 30 cost M6,300 – N7,500, 40 x 40 cost N6,400 – N6,800, 30 x 60 cost N5,700 – N6,000 and 60 x 60 cost N7,700 – N8,000.

Still on the rising costs of building materials, the current prices of steel rods have been unaffordable.

There is no denying the fact that steel rods are similar to the skeletons of structures or buildings. At this juncture, a peep in the consumer market of the building product reveals that the list of current steel rod prices in Nigeria cut across 1 piece of 8 mm steel rod costs N700 to N850, 1 piece of 16 mm steel rod cost N1,500 to N2,000, 120 pieces (1 ton) of 16 mm steel rod cost N170,000 to N174, 000, 1 piece of 12 mm steel rod cost N1,100 to N1,500, 176 pieces (1 ton) of 12 mm steel rod cost N165,000 to N170,000, 1 length of 10 mm steel rod cost N1,000 to N1,100 and 1 piece of 25 mm steel rod cost N4,500 to N4, 8000.

Others are 42 pieces (1 ton) of 25 mm steel rod cost N180,000 to N185,000, 1 piece of 20 mm steel rod cost N2,600 to N3,000, 74 pieces (1 ton) of 20 mm steel rod cost N180,000 to N185,000, 185 pieces (1 ton) of 10 mm steel rod costs N165,000 to N167,000, 282 pieces (1 ton) of 8 mm steel rod costs N165,000 to N170,000, BRC Mesh (20 m of 3.5 mm) costs N14,000 to N15,000, BRC Mesh (20 m of 4.0 mm) cost N17,000 to N18,000, BRC Mesh (25 m of 4.0 mm) cost N25,000 to N27,000, A roll of flexible Binding wire cost N5,000 to N5,500, 10 kg bundle of flexible binding wire cost N45,000 to N48,000, 1 roll of stiff binding wire costs N6,000 to N7,000 and 10 kg bundle of stiff binding wire costing N47,000 to N50, 000.

Without resort to further providing a comprehensive price list of virtually all the materials needed for the construction of a building, it is expedient to say that the forgoing is glimmer of how the extant building materials market looks like.

According to Mr. Ayodele Emmanuel, an Estate developer at Pakuro-Mowe, in Ogun State, “The rising price is so pervasive across markets that most developers that took loan from either rich individuals or banks to build have been struggling to pay back the loans and at the same time have continued to battle with the unprecedented rise in prices of building materials.

“When someone borrows money from the bank to buy land, of which you know that Land is expensive, then somewhere in the middle of construction, the cost of materials shoot up and he goes back to borrow more money to complete it. That is the way it has being. It means that those that are already constructing a building project move back and forth in search of funds because they need to complete what they have started to avoid being put to shame or rather become laughing stock. Even some appear to have abandon most of their building projects”.

On factors that might have been triggering the prices of building materials almost by each passing day, Mr. Mike Onwuegbuchulem said: “As a result of the persistent depreciation of the Naira, the cost of building materials has experienced a drastic hike, particularly since the foreign exchange rate became high.

“Not only that, there have been incidences of rising inflation, with businessmen across all sectors witnessing high interest rate, inefficient supply chain in the real estate sector, poor road infrastructure for haulage and importation of cement”.

With all these put together, there is no way there would be no sharp increase in the prices of building materials, like we are today experiencing”.

According Onwuegbuchulem, consumers are giving up on homeownership dream as prices of building materials keep soaring on daily basis.

He explained that someone that is struggling to feed himself and family members will not start talking about building of a house.

Be that as it may, Mr. Edmund Uweru, a building contractor said “Builders are groaning as prices of building materials soar.