During the early stages of the pandemic, prices skyrocketed for nearly all home-related items. Now, with people resuming normal activities, high interest rates, and improved supply chains, lumber prices have returned to more reasonable levels.
According to Marketplace, people stuck at home started spending money on their homes, which drove up the price of construction materials, especially lumber. Plus, people moved to new places where they could work from home, so new home construction shot up, adding even more demand.
However, all the other stuff that goes into homebuilding and renovation has not followed lumber’s price trend. This summer, it’s all about SPF — not sunscreen, two-by-fours. It stands for spruce, pine and fir, and it’s the benchmark for lumber pricing in the United States.
Back in 2021, with demand soaring and supply chains a mess, the price peaked at $1,600 per 1,000 board feet, said Paul Jannke at Forest Economic Advisors.
“Prices currently stand at about $355, so lumber prices are extremely weak right now,” Jannke said. “Those record-high prices that we saw in the second half of 2020 through the first half of 2022 led to extensive investment, mills investing in existing capacity, new capacity.”
