Eye On Housing
The prices of goods used in residential construction climbed 1.5% in June (not seasonally adjusted) even as softwood lumber prices fell 23%, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report. Prices have surged 41.7% since January 2020. Building materials (i.e., goods inputs to residential construction, less energy) prices have increased 4.8%, year-to-date, and are 12.2% higher than they were… Read More ›
Since the relatively low point at the onset of the pandemic on April 17, 2020, lumber prices have been volatile, with record setting spikes interspersed with periods of substantial declines. On balance over the entire period, however, softwood lumber prices have increased enough to add $14,345 to the price of an average new single-family home, and $5,511 to the market… Read More ›
The prices of goods used in residential construction climbed 1.8% in May (not seasonally adjusted) and have increased 19.4%, year-over-year, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report. Prices have surged 40.4% since January 2020. Building materials (i.e., goods inputs to residential construction, less energy) prices have increased 5.4%, year-to-date, and are 36.3% higher than they were in May… Read More ›
According to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy (not seasonally adjusted) climbed 0.5% in April, following upwardly revised increases of 1.9% and 2.4% in March and February, respectively. This adds up to an 4.9% increase in building materials prices since the start… Read More ›
The prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy climbed 1.6% in February (not seasonally adjusted), according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Building materials prices increased 20.4%, year-over-year, and have risen 31.3% since January 2020. Over the past five months, the index has climbed 10.6%. The price index of services inputs to residential… Read More ›
The prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy climbed 3.6% in January (not seasonally adjusted), according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index was led higher by a 25.4% jump in softwood lumber prices and 9.0% price increases for indoor and outdoor paint. Building materials prices increased 20.3%, year-over-year, and have… Read More ›
Most analyses of lumber price trends and levels fail to account for inflation because the price data for softwood lumber used in framing applications is generally quoted using the Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price or lumber futures prices–neither of which is inflation-adjusted. Adjusting for inflation shows that, although the historical price differences are smaller in real terms than nominal,… Read More ›
The prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy climbed 1.5% in December (not seasonally adjusted), according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index was driven higher by large price increases for wood products. Building materials prices increased 15.9% in 2021 and have risen 18.6% since December 2020. Since declining 1.8% between July… Read More ›
The failure of domestic sawmills to sufficiently boost output in the face of ongoing strong home buyer demand was a primary factor that contributed to record-high lumber prices and price volatility in 2021. Soaring lumber prices, combined with delays and higher costs for other building materials, continued to be a significant limiting factor for home building throughout 2021 despite a… Read More ›
The prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy climbed 1.8% in November (not seasonally adjusted), according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The monthly increase was driven by price increases in nearly every product category. Building materials prices have increased 14.1% year-to-date, more than tripling the November YTD increase of… Read More ›