Construction Sector: Some Improvement in Confidence

The general level of trust in the construction industry among contractors in Hungary has improved slightly, but is still at a medium level, the CEO of Mapei Ltd., Béla Markovich said, at an online press conference presenting the results of this year's Construction Industry Confidence Index survey on Wednesday.

This year's Construction Industry Confidence Index (CCI) shows a score of 3.62 stars out of a possible five, compared to 3.53 stars in August last year, he said.

Mapei Ltd. compiled the Construction Industry Confidence Index, a weighted average of the public's assessment of the work of professionals, from the online responses of 7,800 people in August 2022. The survey is representative by gender, type of municipality and region.

Béla Markovich pointed out that among the professions, respondents were most positive about the work of electricians, mechanics, plumbers and gas fitters, and least satisfied with general contractors.

The managing director of Mapei said that the highest rating of 3.8 stars was in Békés County, and the lowest in Budapest, with a rating of 3.42 stars.

21% of respondents indicated that they had suffered a loss due to contract work, down 8 percentage points from a year earlier. The highest rates of botched work were in Budapest with 26% and in central Hungary with 25%, and the lowest in the Northern Great Plain with 17%," Béla Markovich said. 

According to the survey, the average damage caused by botched work in Hungary amounts to HUF 738,000, compared to HUF 753,320 last year. The average amount of damage is still very high in Central Hungary, where it is 1.12 million forints," he added.

54% of respondents believe the future of the sector is heading in the wrong direction, while 17% think it is heading in a very bad direction. 17% of the respondents said the future situation of the sector will not change, while 12% of the surveyed builders thought the construction industry is heading in the right direction, Markovich said.

According to the CEO, the outlook is worsened by a combination of skills shortages, rising construction material prices, contractor fees, contract work and poor experience.