(UPDATED) Just last month we saw a report about building materials surging 5.4% in 2020. In fact, in September alone softwood lumber soared by a record 29%! Now comes a report on HousingWire that says increased costs for lumber and other building materials could add $24k to the price of a new home. Citing data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), they also point out that homebuilder confidence fell two points in March, despite sky-high buyer demand, rising home prices and climbing mortgage rates. Indeed…
“The elevated price of lumber is adding approximately $24,000 to the price of a new home…Though builders continue to see strong buyer traffic, recent increases for material costs and delivery times, particularly for softwood lumber, have depressed builder sentiment this month…” Said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke.
(UPDATE 4/28/21) The NAHB now says 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. In addition they say the increase in multifamily value translates to households paying an additional $119 a month to rent a new apartment.
Click here to read the full story at HousingWire.com.
Click here to see the current price of framing lumber.
