ASK THE BUILDER
How have the price and supply of lumber and other building materials affected your home prices? While lumber prices are down 40% from a record high in May, wood and other building supplies are still selling at far above pre-pandemic prices. One local builder we talked with told us that a year ago, a piece of 4-foot x 8-foot, ¾-inch subflooring sold for “$18 and some change.” Recently, he paid over $80 for the same product. To compound the situation, builders are having to endure supplychain shortages on many of the items needed for new home construction and remodeling. We spoke with area builders to find out how higher prices and shortages
are impacting their businesses and if they foresee any relief in the near future. Here are their responses: “Obviously, it has made house prices go up substantially. It’s much more difficult for builders to determine the (final) price of the house, especially with lumber costs as they are. “There are also a lot of shortages. Appliances are taking about three months for delivery. I’ve had to plan way ahead and have some things delivered earlier than normal. So far, we’ve been able to finish the houses in time, but we’ve cut it close.
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The price of lumber soared at the beginning of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused supply shortages. Coupled with that, the demand for home remodeling projects and new homes surged as employees working remotely felt the need for larger homes or private workspace in their existing homes. Lumber prices hit an all-time high in May, but have since dropped about 40%, which investors and lawmakers hope reflects the reopening of the economy and a gradual return to normalcy.
“I think lumber prices will settle
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down when construction slows or stops. But I don’t know what’s going to happen. If I could tell the future, I wouldn’t be building houses.” Randy Dezern, RS Dezern Construction
“People talk about lumber going up but forget that lumber is more than the framing for the house. It’s the wood floors, wood cabinets and wood trim. In addition to wood, the price of every care for life other thing in the house has gone up – concrete, dry wall, hardware, etc. I can’t Our primary care providers have one goal in common: keeping you and your family healthy. As think of anything that hasn’t gone up.
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Same- and next-day appointments often available.
“(Rising and changing prices) make it hard to price a home. You’re pricing what you can price. Some builders talk about escalation clauses, but I haven’t figured out how that works (when a buyer tries to get a mortgage). “Shortages are another problem. We’re ordering things way earlier than we used to have to – we’re ordering appliances at the start of a job and
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windows as quick as we’ve got a set of plans. Windows used to take approximately two weeks and now it’s approximately eight weeks. “It’s difficult. You just keep going and doing the best that you can.” Commie Johnson, Johnson and Lee, LLC “The lumber price impact is painful, for sure. We have looked for creative ways to offset some of the impact by using alternative materials, having a higher degree of planning for each framing job and having different vendors quote each house. “Not only have prices on building materials gone up but there have been shortages as well. We have had to be more intentional in our planning and preparation for when we would need certain building elements – windows and doors, shingles, framing materials, paint, etc.
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