BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 15. Türkiye's construction costs increased at a lower annual rate than consumer prices in July 2026, while labor costs in the sector recorded a growth rate closer to overall inflation.
This was reported in a publication by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), compared with the consumer price index (CPI) published separately by that agency.
According to TURKSTAT, the construction cost index increased by 28.33% year-on-year in July, compared with annual consumer price inflation of 31.75% for the same month.
Trend's calculations show that the overall construction cost index was 3.42 percentage points below annual CPI inflation in July. The difference was mainly related to material costs, which increased 27.13% year-on-year, or 4.62 percentage points below consumer inflation. At the same time, the construction sector's labor cost index increased 30.51% annually, leaving a difference of 1.24 percentage points compared with CPI inflation, according to Trend's calculations.
A similar pattern was recorded in civil engineering. Trend's calculations reveal that labor costs in the segment increased 31.65% year-on-year, while material costs rose 26.50%. The difference between civil engineering material cost growth and consumer inflation amounted to 5.25 percentage points. The comparison shows that labor-related components of construction costs moved closer to overall inflation than material-related components in July 2026.
For reference, TURKSTAT's construction cost index tracks changes in material and labor costs across residential building construction and civil engineering projects. The index provides data on cost developments in the construction sector and is published separately from consumer price statistics.
