The average cost to rebuild homes across Ireland has increased by 6% over the last year.

The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) released its Guide to House Rebuilding Costs at the Property Insight 2019 conference in Kildare.

Rebuilding costs were up by 8% in Limerick, Cork and Galway, with the rise in Dublin slightly less at 5%.

SCSI vice president Micheál Mahon identified the main reason figures have risen in the last 12 months as the increase in labour rates due to the shortage of construction workers, the impact of new building regulations and the costs associated with disposing of demolition waste. 

Mr Mahon said: "The construction sector is experiencing high levels of activity and this increase is having an inflationary effect on construction prices. There are simply not enough construction workers to meet demand and as a result wage costs are rising. More recently, changes to ventilation requirements for new builds came into effect this year and while they will help reduce heating costs in the long run, this has contributed to the rise in building costs. Thirdly, the costs of disposing of building waste have continued to rise.

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He added: "The reality of the situation is that if the rebuild cost of your home is €360K and you only have it insured for €270K, in the event of a catastrophic event such as a fire, you will be facing a shortfall of €90K. However, what a lot of homeowners don't realise is that if in that situation there was a partial loss, which cost €60K to repair, the insured party would only receive €45K and face a shortfall of €15K. This is because the homeowner in question has only insured their property to three quarters of its rebuilding cost.

"That is why it is important for homeowners to put aside five or ten minutes, to check our easy to use rebuild calculator and to ensure the reinstatement costs required on their home insurance premiums are adequate and fully in line with current figures.

"With rebuild costs rising it is possible consumers may well face pro rata increases on their home insurance premiums. We would advise homeowners to shop around to ensure they are getting the best value."

The full Guide to House Rebuilding Costs is available here.

(CM/MH)