The challenge

This project was one of a series initiated by Eurostat to assess changes in consumer and industrial prices, and to monitor the variation in price levels of goods and services between countries.

The purpose of this work was to provide Eurostat with annual estimates of relative price levels in construction and equipment goods for EU member states.

The study comprised of three phases:

• Price survey (including a review of the current survey methodology)
• Implementation of new methodologies developed in earlier work
• Further modification and refinement of survey methodology

The result

The study evaluated alternative methods to assess and compare construction prices in different countries, including an evaluation of:

• A basket of construction goods
• Whole project costs
• Simplified bills of quantities
• Data from national accounts

The current method adopted by Eurostat is based on a set of simplified bills of quantities covering a range of building types that are:

• Representative of the construction market
• Comparable across Europe