Colombia building costs rise 7.12% in the year to September 2026
Colombian building costs rose 7.12% over the year to September, with labour up 14.12%, even as the monthly reading slipped 0.13%, the statistics office reported.
The facts
- DANE, in the technical bulletin published in Bogota on 30 October 2026, reported that its building construction cost index rose +7.12% over the year to September 2026.
- The monthly reading was -0.13%, and the year-to-date figure measured against December 2025 was 6.94%.
- Labour costs rose 14.12% over the year and 14.19% year to date. The bulletin does not report a monthly figure for labour.
- Materials fell 0.33% on the month. The bulletin does not report year-to-date or annual figures for materials.
- Social housing, which DANE labels VIS, rose 7.07% over the year against 7.00% for non-VIS housing; apartments rose 7.12% and houses 6.40%.
- The index is published on a base of December 2021 equals 100.
What it means for your money
- Building is 7.12% dearer than a year ago. New-build and off-plan prices carry that cost before you ever see a listing.
- Glopra data for Colombia put the average price at 2,570 US dollars per square metre, so a 7.12% annual rise in build cost is a real squeeze on any developer margin at that price level.
- If you already own there, a rising replacement cost supports the value of finished stock, because the next competing unit costs more to deliver than yours did.
What to watch
- Labour at 14.12% against a total of 7.12% is the pressure point. The two published figures show the squeeze sits in wages rather than in materials.
- Whether the negative monthly reading of -0.13% repeats, or proves to be a single month.
- VIS housing at 7.07% and non-VIS at 7.00% moved almost identically, so the pressure is not concentrated in one segment.
Sources: DANE https://www.dane.gov.co/files/operaciones/ICOCED/bol-ICOCED-sep2026.pdf