Lumber Issues Whack at Housing Starts, Affordability

Record-high lumber prices are jacking up the price of new construction, sparking concerns about affordability and even demands for accountability by the nation’s largest residential housing trade group. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says lumber prices have risen by more than 170% in the past 10 months and hit a record high this month. One prominent builder, NAHB second vice chair Alicia Huey of Birmingham, Alabama, says the same lumber-framing package that cost her $35,000 last year at this time now costs $71,000.