# Bangkok home construction costs rise 1.5% in Q3 2026, led by structural work and concrete

> Building a standard house in Bangkok cost 1.5% more in the third quarter of 2026 than in the second, and 2.1% more than a year earlier, the highest level in the Real Estate Information Center's 15-quarter chart. Concrete products rose 13.2% on the quarter, and REIC says developers may not be able to pass the whole cost on to buyers.

Building a standard house in Bangkok cost 1.5% more in the third quarter of 2026 than in the second, and 2.1% more than in the third quarter of 2025. The Real Estate Information Center (REIC) of the Government Housing Bank published the figures on 12 October 2026 in its Home Construction Cost Index (HCCI). The rise sits in structural work and concrete products, and REIC says developers may not be able to pass the whole cost through to selling prices.

REIC's release on the Bangkok index opens with this headline statement, translated from Thai: "Construction costs are still rising, especially structural work and concrete products, while selling prices can be adjusted only to a limited extent, so developers must focus on managing costs and improving the efficiency of project development."

## The index is at the top of REIC's 15-quarter chart

The index stood at 146.2 points in the third quarter of 2026, against a 2010 base year. That is the highest of the 15 quarters REIC charts, which start in the first quarter of 2023, and 8.8% above that first reading of 134.4. The climb was not steady. The index slipped to 142.1 in the fourth quarter of 2025 and to 141.9 in the first quarter of 2026, then rose to 144.1 and 146.2 in the two quarters after.

```chart
type: trend
title: REIC home construction cost index, Bangkok standard house, last 8 quarters, index points, 2010 base year
hue: amber
source: Real Estate Information Center, press release of 12 October 2026
data:
  Q4 2024: 139.9
  Q1 2025: 140.2
  Q2 2025: 141.1
  Q3 2025: 143.2
  Q4 2025: 142.1
  Q1 2026: 141.9
  Q2 2026: 144.1
  Q3 2026: 146.2
```

## Structural work rose fastest

REIC splits the index by type of work, and structural engineering leads. It rose 3.6% on the quarter and 6.2% on the year. On the quarter, the three other work types each moved by less than 1%. On the year, sanitary systems rose 1.5%, architectural work rose 0.6%, and electrical and communication systems fell 0.4%.

| Type of work | Quarter on quarter | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| Structural engineering | +3.6% | +6.2% |
| Architectural | +0.8% | +0.6% |
| Sanitary systems | 0.0% | +1.5% |
| Electrical and communication systems | +0.4% | −0.4% |

REIC says the pressure is concentrated in structural engineering, which it describes as the part essential to construction and the part that directly affects the cost of residential projects.

## Concrete products rose 13.2% in one quarter

Among materials, concrete products rose 13.2% on the quarter and 13.0% on the year. REIC calls it the highest rate of increase in three quarters. Other construction materials rose 5.3% on the quarter and 7.6% on the year. Steel and steel products went the other way on the quarter, down 4.1%, but were still 1.5% higher than a year earlier. Tiles fell in both periods, and wood and wood products did not move in either.

```chart
type: comparison
title: Construction material prices, REIC Bangkok standard house index, Q3 2026
columns: ["Quarter on quarter", "Year on year"]
rows:
  - metric: Concrete products
    values: ["+13.2%", "+13.0%"]
  - metric: Other construction materials
    values: ["+5.3%", "+7.6%"]
  - metric: Electrical and plumbing equipment
    values: ["+0.3%", "+1.0%"]
  - metric: Wood and wood products
    values: ["0.0%", "0.0%"]
  - metric: Steel and steel products
    values: ["−4.1%", "+1.5%"]
  - metric: Sanitary ware
    values: ["−0.6%", "−1.4%"]
  - metric: Tiles
    values: ["−3.1%", "−8.5%"]
highlight: 0
source: Real Estate Information Center, press release of 12 October 2026
```

## REIC says landed housing projects are directly affected

REIC says low-rise, or landed, housing projects carry a relatively high share of structural and concrete cost, so they are directly affected. It says the increase may affect their selling prices, their margins and developers' decisions to launch new projects.

For projects whose prices are already set, REIC says developers may be unable to pass the whole cost through to selling prices, because the housing market still faces limited buying power and limited consumer access to credit. Developers, it says, have to balance protecting their margins against protecting what buyers can afford. A price rise that is too large may hurt sales and lengthen the time it takes to clear stock, and no rise at all may squeeze margins. REIC suggests developers manage costs earlier: designs matched to cost, the choice of material standards, material quantities, buying materials in advance and signing construction contracts in advance.

REIC expects the index to trend higher in the fourth quarter of 2026. It cites pressure from energy costs, construction materials and labour, and says a shortage of skilled tradespeople may keep costs high.

## What a Phuket buyer or owner can check

The release carries no figure for Phuket or any other province, so nothing in it measures what a villa costs to build on Phuket, and costs on the island may move differently from Bangkok's. A villa is a landed house, though, so REIC's point about landed housing is the part of the release closest to a Phuket villa buyer.

For a buyer of an off-plan villa, the contract price is the place to start. Check whether the sale and purchase agreement fixes the price or carries an escalation clause that lets the developer raise it when material costs rise. In a project that is still selling, a revised price list for the remaining units is where a developer that passes on part of a cost increase would usually show it. REIC names the choice of material standards and material quantities as ways for developers to manage cost, so it is worth checking that the specification schedule in your contract names the materials and finishes, not only the layout. And where prices are already set and costs rise, REIC's point about squeezed margins is a reason to ask how the project is funded through to completion.

An owner commissioning a build meets the question more directly. Under a fixed-price contract, the builder generally carries a rise in material costs for the agreed scope; under a cost-plus contract, the owner usually does. Ask which lines of a quote are fixed and which follow material prices, how long the quote holds, and how it prices structural work and concrete, the two items that rose fastest in the Bangkok index. The steps REIC suggests to developers, such as buying materials and signing construction contracts in advance, are questions an owner can also put to a builder.

## What the release does not say

The release does not weight the work types or materials inside the index, so it does not say how much of the 1.5% rise came from concrete products. It gives no cost in baht per square metre, and no reason why concrete products rose so sharply in the third quarter. A standard-house index is not a quote for any specific villa or project.

The release also does not say how much of the cost rise developers have passed on to buyers, or will pass on, or whether any Phuket developer set its prices before the rise. REIC's view of the fourth quarter is its expectation, not a result.

## Guides for checking an off-plan or villa contract

[[off-plan-investment-risks-phuket|Off-plan investment risks in Phuket]] covers developer default, completion delays and specification slip, and how contract structure and due diligence reduce each one. [[off-plan-payment-schedules-phuket|Off-plan payment schedules in Phuket]] explains how instalments should follow verifiable construction milestones and which terms to negotiate before signing. [[buying-villa-thailand-foreigner|Buying a villa in Thailand as a foreigner]] separates the land title, the evidence of building ownership and the registered rights in a villa purchase, and sets out what to verify before each payment on an off-plan villa.