According to the INE, the increase in residential construction costs hides a 2.1% increase in labour costs and a 1.2% increase in materials.

In December alone, the residential construction cost index was up 1.7% on the same month of 2016, while the index for repairs and maintenance was up 1.3%. Here, too, the rising price of labour was the main driver of the increase.

The Greater Lisbon area was the part of Portugal in which construction costs increased most in the 12 months to December, at 2.1%.

The Algarve was the only region to see a decrease, of 0.2%.