The rebounding home construction business has gotten antsy over lumber costs. Between April 1 and Aug. 27, commodity traders bid up lumber to $850 per 1,000 board feet from $260 according to MacroTrends.
That’s a 227% jump up off a four-year low to a record high.
The National Association of Home Builders estimates lumber’s spike would add roughly $16,000 in costs to a typical newly built home of just under 2,500 square feet in size.
With more people working from home — not to mention home-schooling their children — new housing and remodeling efforts have become big priorities.
The rush for wood has been amplified by unexpected projects such as building outdoor seating for restaurants who were banned from serving indoors.
In 103 trading days, the commodity market price more than tripled to $850, easily topping May 2018’s old high of $639 along the way.
