Lumber Prices Surge Over 17% Year-Over-Year

Like just about every other building component the price of lumber has skyrocketed this past year.

Even with a brief period of stability this past summer, the price of lumber is on the rise again and according to a new analysis from the National Association of Home Builders, it has jumped 17.2 percent from this time a year ago.

“This, along with rising wages for construction workers and higher interest rates, is one of the reasons the housing market is experiencing declining affordability,” the NAHB wrote in its latest report on pricing.

According to an analysis of Random Lengths data, framing lumber composite prices were up again earlier this month, hitting  their highest level year-to-date. The framing lumber composite price increased 2.9 percent for the first week of the month and is now 8 percent higher than a month ago. Lumber futures increased 5.2 percent during the week and are up 9.9 percent over last year. Structural panel composite prices increased 1.3 percent from the previous week, though Western Fir plywood and Southern Yellow Pine plywood prices were both flat, NAHB found.

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