Average building cost increases by 5.1% in September 2026 -GSS

The year-on-year inflation rate measured by the Prime Building Cost Index (PBCI) has increased to 5.1 percent in September 2026 from 4.6 percent in August 2026 By this, building costs were 5.1% higher than a year ago and 0.03% higher than in August 2026. Plant and equipment costs went up 19.1% over the year, and were the main pressure point. The monthly change rate for September 2026 was 0.03 percent.

In press release, the Ghana Statistical Service explained that the index tracks the prices of key construction inputs such as building materials, labour, and equipment over time, indexed to the 2023 base year, which is set at 100. “In simple terms, the PBCI shows whether it is becoming more expensive or cheaper to build compared to a previous period.

PBCI is used by key stakeholders including investors, developers, contractors, and policy makers to negotiate contracts, adjust bids, budget effectively, and monitor inflation trends in the building sector”, it said. At the group level, the Labour group inflation rate recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of -3.2 percent in September 2026 down from -2.9 in August 2026.

The Material group recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 6.5 percent in September 2026 up from 5.8 percent in August 2026 while the Plant group recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 19.1 percent up from 17.9 percent in August 2026. At the sub-group level, Reinforcement recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate of 29.0 percent while the sub-group Steel recorded the lowest year-on-year inflation rate of -8.8 percent.

Fourteen sub-groups out of the 23 sub-groups recorded inflation rate above the national average of 5.1 percent. September 2026 PBCI BulletinDownload