Eye On Housing
According to NAHB’s latest estimates, changes in prices for softwood lumber products that occurred between April 17, 2020 and July 08, 2021 are enough to add $29,833 to the price of an average new single-family home, and $9,990 to the market value of an average new multifamily home. The increase in multifamily value, in turn, translates to households paying $92… Read More ›
Although lumber prices have declined somewhat recently, this follows a period of record increases that started in mid-2020 and have left prices at historic highs. In a recent NAHB survey, 94 percent of builders reported a shortage of framing lumber. Despite this, as Tuesday’s post showed, wood framing remains the dominant construction method for single-family homes in the U.S., accounting… Read More ›
Lumber futures prices have decreased by 52 percent (on a front-month basis) over the past seven weeks as mill prices have fallen 48 percent over the same period.[1] In contrast, prices paid by builders since late May have declined by a fraction of that impact. The disconnect—which has always existed—is inherent to the lumber supply chain and choices that must… Read More ›
The historic climb for lumber prices, combined with delays and higher costs for other building materials, is a significant limiting factor for home building in 2021. Despite a historically diminished level of overall housing inventory and solid demand due to low mortgage interest rates and demographics, new construction has been limited in its ability to add needed supply to the market,… Read More ›
Shortages of materials are now more widespread than at any at any time since NAHB began tracking the issue on a regular basis in the 1990s in is survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). In response to special questions on the May 2021 HMI survey, over 90 percent of builders who buy the product in question reported… Read More ›
The historic climb for lumber prices, combined with delays and higher costs for other building materials, is a significant limiting factor for home building in 2021. Despite a historically low level of overall housing inventory and solid demand due to low mortgage interest rates and demographics, new construction has been unable to add additional needed supply to the market, resulting… Read More ›
According to NAHB’s latest estimates, rising softwood lumber prices over the last 12 months have added $35,872 to the price of an average new single-family home, and $12,966 to the market value of an average new multifamily home. That increase in multifamily value translates to households paying $119 a month more to rent a new apartment. These estimates are based on the softwood lumber used… Read More ›
As most industry observers know, softwood lumber prices have been extremely high and volatile over the past year. During an unprecedented four-month surge in 2020 prices nearly doubled, reaching an all-time high in September. Since then prices have continued to fluctuate, increasing recently to the point that they are now considerably higher than they were even at last September’s historic… Read More ›
Prices paid for goods used in residential construction ex-energy rose 1.4% in February (not seasonally adjusted) and have increased 7.7% over the past 12 months, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Building materials (i.e., inputs to residential construction less food and energy) prices have declined just twice since December 2019. The index… Read More ›
The United States consumed roughly 47 billion board feet of softwood lumber in 2019, 30.8% of which came from 48 foreign countries. All softwood lumber imports are not created equally, however. The lumber used to frame a home in the United States must meet stringent standards set by the American Lumber Standard Committee and only 16 foreign countries produce lumber… Read More ›