The construction industry could be facing an unusual concentration as demand is becoming increasingly intense.

The sector is already busy with major projects at the 130,000 sq ft, solar-powered, multistorey Luscar Place development on Pitts Bay Road, the $550-million, mixed-use luxury resort redevelopment at Southampton Princess and the nine-storey Brookfield House in Hamilton.

But there is word of an increasing pressure because of demand for smaller projects, including at private homes.

Operators were somewhat perplexed by recent government figures citing challenges in the sales volume for building material stores, up just 3.3 per cent for the year to December, but decidedly down by 15.5 per cent in November when compared to November 2024, after having plummeted the month before by 21.3 per cent.

An overall look at the 2025 year paints a picture of a highly volatile 12 months for building material stores, marked by a sharp early‑year contraction, mid‑year recovery, strong late‑summer rebound followed by the significant declines in the final quarter seen in October and November, and the modest improvement in December.

But Sacha Bearden, the chief executive officer of home improvement shop Baptiste Ltd, surmised that with the retail sales figures showing that motor vehicle sales were elevated, it likely meant that more people were coming to the island and buying cars.

That, she said, would put more pressure on the real estate market leading to the purchase of more building supplies.

She said: “As a result, that would mean more people are renovating, adding on. So the drop in building material supplies, the government figures show for the two later months, may be caused by a large commercial project bringing in materials, staggered, or way ahead of their need.

“Business did not slow down at all like these figures suggest. We’ve seen three years of solid growth. We (Baptiste) are growing and that leads us to believe the contractors are doing well.”

She said a friend, recently starting a renovation project on her house, could not get some of the better known contractors to even bid on her project because they were so busy.

Ms Bearden recalled a period when builders needed to wait a year or two for an available contractor to do a job because of the incredible demand.

“It’s creeping up and getting to that point now,” she said.

“We sell kitchens and a kitchen is not a small project. It can be $10,000 to $50,000 for a new kitchen. We’re selling loads of kitchens.

“Across our business, everything is up — plumbing, electrical, kitchens, cabinets, bathrooms.

“People are spending money renovating to take advantage of better rents that they can get now from all of these people coming to the island and buying new vehicles.”