Proverbs 22:7 – “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender“.
You Will Pay More To Build A Home: Inflation’s Out
You Will Pay More To Build A Home: Inflation’s Out. It’s not just toilet paper and cleaning supplies. The virus has caused a number of shortages. And, while supplies have bounced back for many products, others — like lumber — are still scarce or are they?
The virus-spurred lumber shortage has driven prices sky high — alter things for the housing market and raising the costs of construction and other projects.
Some involved in the industry predicts when the prices could come back down, while others have said it’s unclear.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says lumber prices have increased more than 200% since April 2020.
The “price per thousand board feet” exceed $1,100 in mid-April, up from less than $500 in June of 2020, the NAHB reported based on data from Random Lengths.
For example, a standard two-by-four that sold for $3.39 now goes for $8.25 and a half inch of plywood that sold for $15.99 can currently sell for as much as $45.35.
Will prices keep going up
Experts within the lumber industry have offered varying projections.
The demand for lumber is expected to “hold up well for some time” but the firm believes supply should rebound and the price of lumber should sharply decline by the end of 2022 for two reasons.
The progressive easing of quarantine measures should allow lumber mills to return to full capacity fairly soon.
The recent pick-up in hiring and higher trucker pay will alleviate the current shortage of truck drivers.
This should help resolve some of the logistical constraints.”
Michael Goodman, director of specialty products at Sherwood Lumber, told Fortune its unlikely “we ever go back to levels we had prior to this boom” because, “demographically speaking,” the country will need more lumber in the coming years.
why did prices jumped
High demand for construction and home remodeling during the virus-related limits on production caused the shortages that pushed prices higher, the Associated Press reports.
At the beginning of the virus, shutdowns forced some sawmills to stop production while Americans stuck at home stocked up on materials for do-it-yourself projects.
Additionally, Fortune reports that potential homebuyers turned to construction when home inventory dropped and the housing market soared amid record-low interest rates.
Now, the backlogged supply hasn’t caught up to the high demand, according to Fortune.
High lumber prices could have a negative impact on potential homebuilders.
Expensive building materials drive up building costs, meaning fewer people can afford to build a home.
“This price spike caused the price of an average new single-family home to cost more than $24,000,” the NAHB says.
High prices have also had an impact on remodeling or home-improvement projects.
