LINDON – Demand isn’t the only thing driving up the cost of a new home. Out of control timber prices have added tens of thousands of dollars to the construction price, according to a national analysis.
“It’s a unique and unprecedented time,” said Caleb Williams, manager of Burton Lumber’s Lindon site. “It is a volatile market that changes almost daily.”
Williams said he is just as surprised as his customers to see the skyrocketing cost of the wood.
“We’ve never seen or expected anything like it,” he said.
Since April 2020, the spike in wood prices has pushed the price of a new single-family home by $ 24,386, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
VIDEO: “That’s three times the price for a 2×4”
Home builders and buyers are in shock about the price of wood
“They don’t believe me”
Next one @ KSL5TV in a priceless #Utah report how the price increase adds thousands to the cost of a new home @Royal house@KSLcompic.twitter.com/Hrc66v2uEG
– Ladd Egan (@laddegan) March 18, 2021
“I’ve been in (the industry) 25 years and there’s never been such a big leap,” said Daniel McArthur of Pine Canyon Homes.
McArthur said he has finished many basements in Utah County and customers don’t believe him when he tells them the current price of framing supplies.
“It was forever two to three dollars for a 2 × 4 stallion,” he said. “Now it’s hitting $ 7 – that’s three times the price for a 2×4.”
McArthur said families are saving money to finish basements and by the time they are ready to start construction, the price has changed. He often shares the price increase with his customers.
“It’s been a big hit for both of us,” he said.
“They more than doubled in the past year”
Wood prices are rising and changing on a daily basis.
“We have never seen or expected anything like it”
LOOK now @ KSL5TV at 6:00 pic.twitter.com/EkOcFg2BEY
– Ladd Egan (@laddegan) March 18, 2021
The association, along with other housing associations, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce last week urging an investigation of the timber supply chain.
“It is easy to see that current prices are an excruciating and often insurmountable financial burden on home builders and contractors,” the letter said.
The letter also asked the Ministry of Commerce to find ways to increase timber production.
“Residential builders and construction companies that have signed fixed-price contracts are being forced to deal with these crippling increases in material prices and costly delays in delivery; there is a significant risk that many of these companies will be forced to shut down,” said the letter. dated March 12, went on to say.
Housing groups blamed the price increase on “better than expected demand for housing” during the pandemic and “unprecedented activity in the DIY segment”.
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