Over the past few months, the real estate and construction sectors have witnessed a troubling increase in the prices of essential building materials, particularly cement.
This unfortunate development, which has become a recurring decimal in the building materials sector, has raised concerns among construction stakeholders, especially private estate developers whose projects are being negatively impacted.
The developers, under the aegis of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), at the weekend, decried the price increases, lamenting that “it is rapidly becoming a major challenge to housing delivery and infrastructure development in Nigeria.”
“As stakeholders who are directly involved in housing development across the country, our members are increasingly concerned about the implications of this development on ongoing and future housing projects,” Oba Akintoye Adeoye, REDAN president, revealed.
Adeoye, who spoke at a press conference jointly organized by REDAN and Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development (CHSD) in Lagos, noted that the price of 50kg bag of cement has surged by over 30 percent in the last six months.
“From available industry data and market observations, the price of a 50kg bag of cement, which sold for about ₦7,500 in the last quarter of 2025, rose to between ₦9,000 and ₦10,000 at the beginning of 2026. The price has continued to climb and is now selling for between ₦11,500 and ₦15,000 in several parts of the country,” the REDAN president said.
According to him, this sharp increase within such a short period has placed enormous pressure on developers and investors in the housing sector, adding that when the price of cement rises, the entire cost structure of housing development is affected.
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However, the impact of rising cost of cement is not on developers alone. It also piles pressure on consumers of housing products, especially renters, who are at the mercy of landlords and other housing suppliers.
Timothy Nubi, a professor and founding director of CHSD, noted that the impact of the surging input prices is evident on housing and rent prices across Nigerian cities, citing Abuja where, he said, annual rent for a self-contained apartment now stands at between N800,000 and N1.5 million, up from N400,000 per annum.
“In Lagos, annual rent for a self-contained apartment is N800,000 to N1million, up from N400,000, while Kano and Port Harcourt are also seeing significant increases,” Nubi said.
He noted that a moderate two-bedroom bungalow requires several hundred bags of cement, and with prices at N10,500—N11,000 per bag, construction costs are soaring.
Adeoye pointed out that cement is not the only material whose prices have soared, saying that the cost of other construction inputs, such as iron rods and sand, has also increased considerably.
“The combined effect of these rising costs is that developers are now facing serious financial pressures, which are already leading to delays in project delivery, scaling down of housing developments, and, in some cases, the suspension or abandonment of projects,” he said.
Nubi agreed, saying that while cement prices have gone up by 30 percent in the last quarter, steel prices are up 20 percent, sharp sand, 25 percent, and wood/granite prices have also increased, but at a slower rate.
“This situation is particularly worrisome when we consider the fact that Nigeria is already confronted with a significant housing deficit. Any development that further increases the cost of building houses will ultimately make homeownership even more difficult for millions of Nigerians.
We must also note that persistent increases in the prices of building materials can create unintended consequences within the construction industry. When costs rise beyond manageable levels, there is always the risk that some individuals may resort to the use of substandard materials in an attempt to cut costs, which can ultimately compromise the quality and safety of buildings,” the REDAN president noted.
He, therefore, called on the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and other relevant government institutions to urgently engage stakeholders in the building materials value chain with the aim of stabilizing the price of cement and other essential construction materials.
“We also appeal to cement manufacturers and other industry players to work collaboratively with the government and stakeholders to ensure that the housing sector remains stable and capable of delivering affordable homes to Nigerians,” he stated.
