Painters in March 2026: costs rising, margins shrinking
Three pieces of news that change what you should charge on your next job.
TL;DR
Construction labour costs in Portugal have risen 8.7%, and materials such as paints and fillers are following the same trend. The ASAE is now monitoring price increases in the sector, which creates risk for anyone adjusting prices without solid documentation. Any quote closed more than three weeks ago is likely no longer covering your real costs.
Labour costs up 8.7%: what this means for your next quote
INE data for November 2025 shows that the cost of building new homes in Portugal increased 4.5% year on year. The figure that should concern any painter who works with assistants or subcontracts teams is a different one: labour costs rose 8.7%, the highest figure recorded since December 2024.
If you hire an assistant for a two-day job, you are paying 8.7% more than you were paying a year ago for the same person. If that difference is not reflected in the price you charged the client, it came out of your pocket. Jobs quoted in January or February based on labour costs from that time already have their margin compromised.
The practical rule is simple: any proposal sent more than three weeks ago should be reviewed before it is accepted. Not to renegotiate with the client, but to work out whether it is still viable to proceed at the agreed price or whether you need to have a difficult conversation before starting the work. Closing a job at a loss because you did not want to revise the quote is the most expensive mistake an independent painter can make right now.
Paints and fillers are also rising: materials squeeze margins from a second front
On top of labour, construction materials recorded a 1.3% increase over the same period. For a painter, this translates to paints, primers, levelling compounds, and surface preparation products all costing more than they did when you closed your last major quote.
1.3% may sound small, but on a job with 800 euros in materials, that is an extra 10 euros that was not accounted for. Across five jobs a month, that is 50 euros disappearing from your margin without anything visible happening. The problem is cumulative: material prices are not going to reverse, and every quote that does not update unit costs will quietly accumulate losses.
The solution is not to raise prices arbitrarily, but to update material costs based on the actual prices in the week you send the quote. Keep your purchase receipts, photograph your supplier invoices, and use those figures as your basis for calculation. When a client questions the price, you have concrete documentation to back it up, not an old estimate that no longer reflects reality.
The ASAE will inspect construction prices: what changes for painters adjusting their margins
The ASAE has announced it will be monitoring price increases for construction materials and services. For most independent painters, the immediate reaction is concern: can I raise my prices without being investigated?
The short answer is yes, you can, as long as the increase reflects real, documented costs. ASAE inspections target unjustified and abusive increases, not a painter adjusting their rates to cover labour that is 8.7% more expensive or pricier materials. The risk lies with those who cannot explain why they charged more. Anyone with detailed quotes that break down materials and hours is in a very different position from someone charging a round figure with no supporting detail.
There is also a potential benefit to this measure. If the ASAE curbs abusive price increases from suppliers, paint and material prices could stabilise more quickly than they would without intervention. For now this is a possibility, not a guarantee. Until there are clear signs of that stabilisation, the right approach is to quote using current market prices and keep a record of all purchases.
How to protect your margin now: concrete steps for March 2026
There are three actions that make an immediate difference. First: review all open quotes that have not yet been accepted and update labour and material costs based on this week's prices. If the client has already accepted and the job is starting soon, run the numbers before you begin, not after you finish.
Second: include a maximum validity of 15 days on all new quotes. This is not discourteous, it is legitimate professional protection. Costs are moving fast, and a quote with no expiry date is a blank cheque that can hurt you. Third: always break down materials and hours of work in the quote. A detailed document protects you when clients question prices and if any inspection requires justification of figures. With Prummo you can structure detailed quotes and update them quickly when prices change, without having to rewrite everything from scratch. Try it at prummo.app and see how your first quote looks.