Eye On Housing
The prices of building materials rose 0.4% in July (not seasonally adjusted) even as softwood lumber prices increased 2.3%, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report. Prices have surged 35.7% since January 2020, although 80% of the increase has occurred since January 2021. The PPI for goods inputs to residential construction, including energy, decreased 1.2% as the prices of… Read More ›
We know lumber prices are up more than 170% since mid-April as of mid-September. As housing has rebounded, the lack of lumber has materialized as a key weak spot for housing supply. With that in mind, what’s the market share of alternative framing methods? For better or worse, wood framing remains the dominant construction method for single-family homes in the… Read More ›
Wood framing remains the most dominant construction method for single-family homes in the U.S., according to NAHB analysis of Census Bureau data. For 2018 completions, 93% of new homes were wood-framed. Another 7% were concrete homes, and less than half a percent were steel-framed. These shares have remained fairly stable over the last five years. In absolute terms, 778,000 single-family… Read More ›