ABSTRACT
The Building and Construction sector is very crucial in any
nation’s social and economic development as it is the backbone to building
development in any nation and one of the crucial factor which makes it
functional is building materials which is also a dependent factor on the cost
of acquiring the materials. This paper therefore examines the effects of
building material cost on housing delivery in Akure. A total of 20
questionnaires was administered in the core area of the city using purposive
sampling. The findings from the study shows that some factors responsible for
the rising cost of building materials are government policy, the present
economic situation of the country as well as the attitude of the building
material sellers. The study also showed that the rising cost of the building
materials has high implication on affordable housing provision in the study
area, risk of project abandonment due to delay in project completion,
construction of substandard houses as well as increase in the price of rent. It
was recommended that; the government should formulate policy that will play
down the agitations on the use of imported building materials by encouraging
research in the production of local building materials, government should make
an impact by subsidizing the price of building materials in order to increase
the standard of building using adequate and efficient materials for building
and the price of building materials should be checked and necessary policy put
in place so as to encourage the construction of houses by developers and this
in turn will also help them give a reasonable price for rent to tenants.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background to the Study
Researchers in
building sector have indicated that between 50 to 60 per cent of the total
construction input goes into building materials. As a result, there is an
urgent need to address the high cost of these products which is said to have
slowed down the growth of the building and construction sector in Nigeria.
Building materials constitute the largest single input in housing construction.
While Adedeji (2010) observed that about sixty (60) per cent of the total
housing expenditure goes for the purchase of building materials, Arayela (2005)
averred that the cost of building materials constitute about 65 percent of the
construction cost.
Ogunsemi
(2010) opined that building materials form the main factors that restricts the
supply of housing and ascertained that they account for between 50-60 percent
of the cost of buildings. Thus, Adedeji (2002) rightly observed that one main
barrier to the realization of effective housing in Nigeria as revealed in
successive government efforts has been the cost of housing in the country. He
argued that in the early periods, shelter in Nigeria was easily affordable as
building materials were sourced from the immediate environment at affordable
costs. Technology also was readily available with commensurate simple
techniques. But contact with the outside world through interregional and
international training of professionals in foreign countries as occasioned by
colonization, brought changes to tastes and hence outlook to house forms. These
changes rendered the undeveloped local building materials inadequate while
there was an increased demand for exotic ones. Accordingly, Arayela (2002)
posited that the modern building industry lays much emphasis on sophisticated
building materials and techniques that are expensive and energy consuming.
Though, housing delivery efforts have evidently been inhibited by prohibitive costs
of building materials, this problem cannot be reasonably and reliably overcome
by merely resorting to the use of locally available materials without due
considerations to the applicable initiative, the cost of processing and
sustainability of the local materials. One of the most important components of
a sustainable building is the material efficiency. Correct selection of
building materials can be performed by taking into account their complete life
span and by choosing products with the minimal environmental impacts. For
instance, González and Navarro (2006) estimated that the selection of building
materials with low environmental impacts can reduce carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions by up to 30%. The use of renewable and recycled sources is widely encouraged
as the life-cycle of a building and its elements can be closed (Chwieduk,
2003). The major factor that greatly affect the selection of building materials
are their costs and social requirements such as thermal comfort, good
mechanical properties (strength and durability), aesthetic characteristics and
an ability to construct quickly. Ideally, the combination of all environmental,
economic and social factors can give a clear description of a material, and
thus helps in a decision-making process regarding the cost of the materials
suitable for buildings (Abeysundara, et, al.,2009). Nigerians would
continue to pay more for accommodation in major cities until the cost of
building materials is subsidized through probably through tax reduction. The instability
in the price of building materials was posited as a direct result of high taxes
which in turn impacts on the cost of accommodation in major cities
across the country. According to Arayela (2002), many completed
housing estates had remained unoccupied because of the high rental and sale
prices attached to them as against the meager income of the average
Nigerian workers. He also added that if government can revitalise our
industrial base, the cost of building materials will come down and many more
people would be able to build houses. He therefore urged the Federal
Government to provide tax relief for local manufacturers and importers of
building materials in order to reduce the high cost of accommodation in major
cities.
1.2
Statement of problem
Building
materials have been playing an important role in the construction industry—they
are those materials put together in erecting or constructing structures, no
field of engineering is conceivable without their use (Akanni, 2006; Udosen
& Akanni, 2010). Building materials contribute immensely to the quality and
cost of housing, from what is used in the foundation to the materials for
roofing and finishes, while the building materials industry is an important
contributor to the national economy of any nation as its output governs both
the rate and the quality of construction work.
The cost of
building materials poses a significant threat to both the construction industry
and people aspiring to own houses (Anosike, 2009; Mekson, 2008; Mohammed, 2008;
Njoku, 2007); for example, a bag of cement, which is valued at Ν1,350.00 in
2006, goes as high as Ν1,850.00 in 2009 (Anosike, 2009) depicting about 37%
increment; the bag goes as high as Ν2,000.00 in 2015 during peak season (field
survey 2015). Supporting this view, Jagboro and Owoeye (2004) earlier
established that increase in the prices of building materials has multiplier
effects on housing development while Idoro and Jolaiya (2010) affirmed that
many projects were not completed on time due to the cost of materials, which
have been on the increase. Besides timely completion, high prices of building
materials form a crucial constraint to improving housing conditions in Nigeria
(United Nations Centre for Human Settlement [UNCHS], 1993).
In spite of
the past studies on the cost of building materials in Nigeria, little is
publicized about the implications of the rise in cost on the construction
industry; most literature (Jagboro & Owoeye, 2004; Mekson, 2008; Njoku,
2007; Oladipo & Oni, 2012) has concentrated on identifying the causes with
little emphasis on the implications; hence, the research seeks to provide
information on the effect of cost of building materials on housing development
in Nigeria.
1.3
Objectives of the study
The following
are the objectives of this study:
i.
To
examine the effect of building materials cost on housing development in
Nigeria.
ii.
To
determine the factors responsible for high cost of building materials in
Nigeria.
iii.
To
proffer solutions that will reduce the cost of building material to ensure adequate
housing development in Nigeria.
1.4
Research questions
i.
What
is the effect of building materials cost on housing development in Nigeria?
ii.
What
are the factors responsible for high cost of building materials in Nigeria?
iii.
What
are the solutions that can reduce the cost of building material to ensure
adequate housing development in Nigeria?
1.5
Hypothesis
HO: Cost of
building materials does not affect housing development in Nigeria.
HA: Cost of
building materials does affect housing development in Nigeria.
1.6
Significance of the study
The following
are the significance of this study:
i.
Findings
from this study will educate the general public on the current market cost of
building materials in Nigeria and its effect on sustainable housing development
in Nigeria.
ii.
The
results of this study will sensitize the policy makers and the government on
the need to make and implement policies that will reduce the cost of building
materials in Nigeria thereby encouraging massive housing development all over
the country.
iii.
This
research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers
interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if
applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic.
1.7
Scope/limitations of the study
This study on
the effect of building materials cost on housing development in Akure will
cover the current prices of building material in Akure focusing on how it has
influenced the provision of affordable housing for the Nigerian populace.
LIMITATION
OF STUDY
Financial
constraint–
Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing
for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of
data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time
constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with
other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for
the research work.