Lumber Cost Down, Builder Sentiment Up

Builder confidence increased for the first time in three months, edging up a point in September to 76.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index was at 83 in September 2020 before hitting a record high of 90 during November and then falling dramatically as lumber costs climbed combined with other supply chain issues.

Lumber reached more than $1,600 per thousand board feet this spring, but the more recent price has been around $400.
Of the index’s three components, current sales conditions rose 1 point to 82. Buyer traffic increased 2 points to 61 and sales expectations in the next six months held steady at 81.

“The single-family building market has moved off the unsustainably hot pace of construction of last fall and has reached a still hot but more stable level of activity, as reflected in the September HMI,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “While building material challenges persist, the rate of cost growth has eased for some products, but the job openings rate in construction is trending higher.”