by nilanjana chakraborty this is not the best time to buy a house though an estimated 245 lakh houses are lying unsold across the country the correction expected in property prices has still not happened interest rates too are not coming down even so the dip in commodity prices means this could be the ideal time to construct a house prices of key construction materials that account for nearly 47 of the total construction costs have come down 621 in the past six quarters bringing down the overall costs by more than 6 see graphic these figures are based on prices of construction material in delhis burari market between april 2014 and september 2015 steel accounts for the biggest chunk of the costs of construction material last week the government imposed a minimum import price on steel to protect the domestic industry this is likely to cause a spike in steel prices which had dropped almost 18 between april 2014 and september 2015 the other big component is cement cement prices have hardened in the past few months but still remain 5 below their april 2014 levels bricks paints electrical fittings and sanitaryware are also cheaper now some other costs such as labour architects fee and other ancillary expenses would have obviously gone up in the past two years also the ban on sand mining around delhi has caused prices to go up however given the slowdown in the real estate sector not too many projects are taking off this means artisans labourers and construction equipment are easily available now if you have already secured the land and necessary clearances for your future home the current market conditions are perfect for you to begin executing your plan cant buy in bulk there are however certain limitations to making the best of this opportunity it is not easy to find space to store building materials like cement bricks and steel even if you have enough space cement cannot be stored for extended periods of time so you cant buy the entire steel and cement required for construction at one go these will have to be purchased in small installments according to usage moreover many items will not be immediately required prices of paints electrical fittings and tiles are down but they are needed when the structure is ready which could be 46 months down the line by the time you need these items their prices might have gone up even so if you have been planning to build a house this is the best time to take the plunge overseeing the construction of a home is an arduous task which is why many house owners endlessly procrastinate the decision however delaying the decision could mean missing out on the low construction costs our calculations show that if the total cost of construction is 30 lakh one can save close to 19 lakh by acting now keep in mind that construction involves a lot of timeconsuming paperwork as well getting the initial