The construction materials market is expected to cool down soon.

Officials from the Department of Agriculture and Environment inspect the production of common building materials at the 19/8 Moc Chau Tunnel Brick Factory.

In early 2025, Mr. Nguyen Van Son's family in Chieng Le Ward, City, began building a new house. However, he couldn't hide his worry as the construction costs increased significantly. Mr. Son said: "I borrowed more money to build the house. Since the beginning of the year, the price of construction materials has skyrocketed, causing the cost to increase by 10-15% compared to the initial estimate."

For households building houses, the continuous increase in construction material prices has driven up total costs by hundreds of millions of dong, depending on the scale of the project. Many families have had to cut back on design elements or postpone construction, waiting for material prices to "cool down".

The family of Mr. Bui Van Trieu, residing in Chieng Coi ward, City of Construction, shared: "Besides the increase in construction material prices, supplies are very scarce. At many times, there are no building bricks available, forcing us to temporarily postpone construction while waiting for materials, which affects the progress. My family is considering cutting back on unnecessary items."

The Kim Son urban area in Chieng Coi ward, City, is currently under construction.

Several building material dealers in the city reported that construction steel prices have increased 4-5 times since the beginning of the year. Mr. Chu Van Dung, Director of 998 Steel Joint Stock Company in Son La City, stated: The price of steel is currently fluctuating between 15,600 and 16,000 VND/kg, an increase of about 2,000 VND/kg compared to the beginning of 2025. The worrying aspect is the shortage of goods, especially 10mm rebar – a commonly used type for roofing. Currently, the amount of imported goods has decreased by 50% compared to the end of 2024.

Construction sand is also on the list of rising construction materials, with many sand mines unable to supply enough sand to customers. Currently, sand manufacturers, distributors, and stores are all experiencing sand shortages. Regarding the reasons for the sand scarcity, Mr. Tran Thanh Nam, Deputy Director of the Song Ma Sand Branch of Quynh Ngoc Joint Stock Company, said: Due to the low rainfall since the beginning of the year, sand in the Song Ma river basin is very scarce. Currently, trucks have to wait in line for 2-3 days to load sand.

Customers are surveying iron and steel prices at 8081 Company Limited, City.

Binh An Concrete Company in Chieng Mung commune, Mai Son district, has had to reduce its operating capacity by 60% due to sand scarcity. Mr. Dinh Xuan Dung, Deputy Director of the company, said: "On average, the company imports about 1,000 m³ of sand per month for concrete production, but in recent months, we have only been able to import 400 m³. The sand scarcity has led to a sharp increase in sand prices from 420,000-450,000 VND/m³, resulting in reduced profits."

According to surveys at building material stores in Son La city, the price of Ma River sand is 440,000 VND/m³, but it is also very scarce; while fired bricks from Muong Bon and Yen Chau range from 1,700-1,800 VND/piece. For cement, Vissai, Nghi Son, Bim Son, and But Son brands have increased prices by 50,000-100,000 VND/ton; Mai Son cement ranges from 1.2-1.3 million VND/ton; and other brands range from 1.3-1.8 million VND/ton.

Maintaining customer trust has become difficult when orders cannot be delivered on time due to material shortages. Ms. Tran Viet Ha, from 8081 Company Limited, Ho Chi Minh City, said: "Since the beginning of the year, the number of customers has been higher than in previous years. Although we had ordered iron, bricks, and sand in advance, we have frequently run out of supplies recently, slowing down the construction progress of many households."

Residents of Chiềng Cơi ward, Sơn La city, are building houses.

To address difficulties in the supply of construction materials, relevant departments, localities, and units are focusing on implementing solutions to ensure the supply of common construction materials for the construction of projects and works.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, said: Currently, the entire province has 162 mineral mines for common construction materials included in the exploration, exploitation, and utilization plan. These include 53 quarries for common construction materials; 13 quarries for artificial sand; 53 natural sand mines; 12 clay mines for bricks and tiles; and 31 mines for leveling soil. The management and exploitation of mineral resources are carried out by the Department in coordination with the Department of Construction and other relevant agencies through licensing and auctioning of exploitation rights.

"Cooling down" the construction materials market is a pressing need for both citizens and businesses. Therefore, managing the prices of construction materials is a priority for relevant departments and agencies. Quarterly, the Department of Construction publishes information on construction material prices in the province on its official website; some material prices are announced based on the production location and supplier. Functional agencies are strengthening inspections and supervision of construction material production and business activities to prevent hoarding and price gouging. At the same time, they are creating conditions for construction material manufacturers to increase production capacity and supply to the market.

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