In an effort led by NAHB, more than 35 organizations recently sent a joint letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo calling on her to 'examine the lumber supply chain, identify the causes for high prices and supply constraints, and seek immediate remedies that will increase production.'.NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke and First Vice Chairman Jerry Konter held in-person and virtual meetings with congressional leaders earlier this month to urge them to address rising lumber prices and to take steps to ensure an adequate supply of lumber and other building materials to stem rising housing costs.Since President Biden was sworn into office in January and the new 117th Congress was seated, NAHB has taken the following actions: This is the top priority for the association. market.Īs lumber prices remain stubbornly high, NAHB continues to work relentlessly with the White House, Congress and lumber producers to increase production and bring prices lower. Finally, the extreme lumber price volatility has been exacerbated by tariffs on Canadian lumber imports into the U.S.Moreover, producers did not anticipate the massive uptick in demand from do-it-yourselfers and big box retailers during the pandemic.When it became clear in the ensuing months that housing weathered the storm much better than predicted and demand remained strong, lumber mills did not ramp up production accordingly.Many mills reduced production last spring due to stay-at-home orders and social distancing measures enacted by state and local governments at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.These unprecedented lumber price hikes are attributable to the following factors: Included is any softwood used in structural framing (including beams, joists, headers, rafters and trusses), sheathing, flooring and underlayment, interior wall and ceiling finishing, cabinets, doors, windows, roofing, siding, soffit and fascia, and exterior features such as garages, porches, decks, railing, fences and landscape walls. NAHB calculated these average home price increases based on the softwood lumber that goes into the average new home, as captured in the Builder Practices Survey conducted by Home Innovation Research Labs. The latest Random Lengths prices as of the week ending on April 23 show the price of framing lumber near $1,200 per thousand board feet - up nearly 250% since last April when the price was roughly $350 per thousand board feet. This lumber price hike has also added nearly $13,000 to the market value of an average new multifamily home, which translates into households paying $119 a month more to rent a new apartment.įurther adding to affordability woes, building material prices have by and large been steadily rising since 2020 and were up across the board in March. The NAHB credited positioned the blame on persevering with provide chain disruptions, the Biden administration’s doubling of tariffs on Canadian imports into the U.S., and the widescale destruction of timber throughout final season’s wildfire season with the newest worth spikes.Soaring lumber prices that have tripled over the past 12 months has caused the price of an average new single-family home to increase by $35,872, according to new analysis by the NAHB Economics team. Lumber costs have fluctuated considerably throughout the pandemic, due partially to a piece slowdown at lumber mills within the early days of the pandemic, and a miscalculation by lumber suppliers in the identical time interval that demand for brand new housing can be decrease over the approaching years because of the pandemic. Lumber costs peaked at $1,500 per thousand board toes final Might - tacking on $36,000 to the worth of recent properties, earlier than declining by means of August, solely to spike dramatically once more. In response to the lumber trade commerce journal Common Lengths, the worth of framing lumber topped $1,000 per thousand board toes as of Dec. The worth enhance has additionally affected added $7,300 to the typical worth of recent multifamily properties, including $67 a month in prices for households renting new residences.

In response to knowledge launched Tuesday by the Nationwide Affiliation of Residence Builders, lumber costs are skyrocketing once more after months of moderation, inflicting the typical worth of a brand new single-family dwelling to rise by $18,600 in line with the affiliation’s estimates. Hovering lumber costs are having an outsize impact on the worth of recent properties, new knowledge reveals.

Lumber prices skyrocket