Denver Channel: Lumber at all-time high while all-time low in housing

Posted at 2:19 PM, Sep 23, 2020 and last updated 3:19 PM, Sep 23, 2020

According to the National Association of Home Builders, the price of lumber has increased by 173% since mid-April to an all-time high in August.

“Without a doubt, the housing prices will go up because lumber is a very important input of houses,” said Kishore Kulkarni, Ph.D. a professor of economics at MSU Denver.

Kulkarni says there’s multiple reasons why lumber prices have skyrocketed during the last few months, including higher transportation costs, some lumber mills shutting down, low interest rates and more people looking to purchase homes during the pandemic.

“The supply of lumber is having a lot of bottlenecks because of COVID-19,” he said,

This is pushing up the price of a typical new home by more than $16,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders.