The cost of building in Ghana continued its sustained downward trend in November 2025, with official data showing the slowest rate of price increases in a year.
The year-on-year inflation for the Prime Building Cost Index (PBCI) fell to 5.9 per cent, according to the latest release from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
Presented by Acting Deputy Government Statistician Omar Seidu, the data indicates the PBCI for November 2025 stood at 131.3, up from 123.9 in November 2024. “This means that on the average, the price of building materials increased by 5.9 per cent between Nov 2024 and Nov 2025,” the release stated. This November figure “marks the 7th consecutive drop in YoY inflation,” and represents a significant reduction from the 22.6 per cent rate recorded in December 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, the general price level of building inputs saw a modest increase of 0.4 per cent between October and November 2025, a shift from the deflationary trend observed in the preceding five months.
A detailed breakdown reveals persistent pressures in specific areas. Labour costs remain a significant driver, with year-on-year inflation for labour easing only slightly to 12.7 per cent in November from 13.7 per cent in October. Month-on-month, labour prices increased sharply by 2.6 per cent. Materials inflation, however, showed more substantial easing, falling to 4.2 per cent year-on-year from 6.3 percent, with a marginal month-on-month decrease of 0.1 per cent. Plant inflation slowed to 5.3 per cent year-on-year.
At the sub-group level, equipment recorded the highest year-on-year inflation at 15.2 per cent, followed by both skilled and unskilled labour at 12.7 per cent. In contrast, reinforcement materials and cement recorded deflation, at negative 7.3 per cent and negative 3.3 per cent respectively.
The GSS identified steel, skilled labour, and unskilled labour as the top three contributors to the overall inflation rate for November.
The statistical service highlighted recent innovations to its reporting, including the provision of annual average inflation data, analysis of contributions to inflation, and the introduction of practical recommendations. For households, the GSS suggested that “with material prices stabilizing, it is a good time to start or resume your building project.” It advised businesses to “Lock in today’s prices. With inflation down to 5.9%, secure your medium-term contracts now before any potential rebound.”
For the government, recommendations included strategic spending: “Use this PBCI data to guide procurement. With prices low, it is an opportune time to fast-track infrastructure projects, especially the ‘big push projects’.” The service also noted that “the persistent labour inflation suggest skills gap, so we may need to expand training for artisans.”
The released PBCI is based on a newly rebased index with 2023 as the base year, tracking 406 items across 23 sub-groups, a significant expansion from the previous 37 items, aiming to provide a more accurate reflection of the contemporary construction industry.