The availability of building materials, particularly framing lumber, is rising on the list of concerns among home builders, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Twenty-one percent of single-family builders reported a shortage of framing lumber.
“It is certainly concerning that we have seen such a large jump in reported framing lumber shortages in a relatively short period of time,” says Robert Dietz, the NAHB’s chief economist. “The rising reports of shortages along with the recent increases in softwood lumber prices can almost certainly be related to the ongoing softwood lumber trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada.”
In July 2014, only 8 percent of builders reported a framing lumber shortage. Since May 2017, this percent has more than doubled to 21 percent, a post-housing recession high, the NAHB notes.
“Lumber is a major component in new-home construction, and it is critical that we continue to have a sufficient and fairly priced supply to keep up with housing demand,” says Granger MacDonald, the NAHB’s chairman. “These reports of framing lumber shortages and rising prices only harm housing affordability and price countless American households out of the housing market.”
Fourteen percent of surveyed builders also reported widespread shortages in ready-mix concrete and trusses, according to the study.
Source: National Association of Home Builders
