According to the Statistical Center of Iran's latest report published on its website, the index stood at 407 during the period. The figure indicates almost no change compared with the previous quarter, i.e. the first quarter of the current year, which ended on June 21.
Q1 construction material price index stood at 406.9.
During the four-quarter ending Sept. 22, the index grew by 49.2% compared with the previous year's corresponding period, according to Financial Tribune.
The category of “cement, concrete, gravel and sand” with a price growth of 13% compared with Q1 of the current year and coefficient of 14.72% gave the biggest boost to the overall index in Q2. The index for this category stood at 404.4.
The category witnessed a price hike of 60.9% year-on-year. Its price index grew by 45.4% during the four-quarter ending Sept. 22.
The category of "stone" ranked second with a price growth of 3.9% compared with the previous quarter and a coefficient of 9.79%. The category’s index hit 340.4 in Q2, which was higher by 35.1% compared with the same quarter of last year. During the four quarters ending on Sept. 22, the growth rate of this category's price index was at 41%.
The category of “masonry, earthenware and brick” was the third group with the biggest impact on the overall residential construction material price index in summer. In Q2, the group's index stood at 347.2, which was higher by 5.3% compared with the previous quarter and 60.8% YOY. In the four quarters ending on Sept. 22, the group experienced a growth of 53% in its price index. The category has a coefficient of 5.19%.
The category of “ironware, rebar, doors, windows and fences profile” with a 9.2% decline in price index and a coefficient of 18.42 and the “lumber” category with a 2.6% decrease in price index and a coefficient of 7.79 were the main laggards in terms of index growth.
In Q2, the index for “ironware, rebar, doors, windows and fences” was registered at 368.3, which was lower by 0.6% year-on-year. In the four quarters ending on Sept. 22, the group experienced a growth of 45% in its price index.
The lumber group index stood at 550.1 in Q2, registering a 35% growth compared with the same quarter of last year. The group’s price index grew by 91.5% during the four quarters ending on Sept. 22.
Six-Year Overview
A look at SCI data for the six years to fiscal 2017-18 shows that the residential construction material price index has increased in five of those years.
During the fiscal 2011-12, the index grew slightly but continuously in each quarter. SCI uses that year as the base year for its calculations, and therefore considers the index to stand at 100 during that year.
During next year, the index stood at 116.9 in Q2, and respectively grew to 131.6, 145.4 and 152.9 by the end of the year, indicating an annual growth of 36.7% in the index that averaged at 136.7 in that year.
In the fiscal 2013-14, the Q1 index stood at 170.1, and slightly declined to 170 and 167 in the next two quarters only to rebound to 170 in the final quarter. The overall index increased by 23.8% with an annual average of 169.3.
In the next year, the index reached 178.1 during Q1 and continued to rise for the next two quarters to 184.4 and 184.7 respectively before falling to 174.9 in Q4. The year's average index was 180.5 to showcase a yearly increase of 6.7%.
The fiscal 2015-16 saw a reversal whereby the index first increased to 178.3 and 178.7 in the first two quarters, but then fell to 176.1 and 175.7 in the next two. With an average annual rate of 177.2, the index contracted by 1.8%, the only time that has happened in the six-year period under review.
The fiscal 2016-17 saw the residential construction price index continuously rise with quarterly numbers registered at 183.9, 186.6, 193.5 and 191.6 respectively. The index averaged at 188.9 during the year to showcase a 6.6% hike.
In the following year, the index's growth became more noticeable as Iran's housing sector was beginning to come out of a five-year recession. During Q1, the index stood at 197.1 and continued to rise to 211.6, 216.7 and 223.1 respectively in the next three quarters respectively.
The index averaged at 212.1 for the entire year to showcase a yearly rise of 12.3%.
SCI uses the fiscal 2011-12 as its base year for all calculations in contrast to the Central Bank of Iran that last year upgraded its base year to the fiscal 2016-17.