Rising cost of building materials pushing up prices of new houses

Verger points to the particularly negative effect on the construction of VPO protected social housing. Current regulations fix prices, but the rising cost of materials will shatter building companies' calculations. This will mean that there is no additional protected housing, because "these extra costs that cannot be assumed by the companies."

For most other projects, she says, "there may be contract terminations because the construction companies will choose not to go ahead." "Extra costs will mean an increase that puts housing out of the reach of the market. The only sector that that will be saved, for now, will be the construction of luxury homes."

On the mainland, the average increase in the cost of housing is around 22%. In the case of the Balearics, the insularity factor increases this percentage considerably.