Lumber prices have “skyrocketed” during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a high demand and low supply, CBS Austin reports.
The pandemic set off a building boom due to low interest rates and more time at home, according to the report, and contractors have reported lumber prices soaring from 50–100%.
“The lumber purchasers pulled back thinking the market was going to drop based on all of this and in fact with low interest rates and pent-up demand the market increased,” Joe Fowler, president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, told CBS.
The surge in the cost of lumber has added $16,000 to the price of a single-family home since mid-April, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
One Austin contractor told CBS it was “just a matter of time” before the cost of hardwood flooring is impacted.
