Lumber prices have been especially volatile in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic due to increased demand and supply-side constraints. The unprecedented spikes in lumber prices have added more than $24,000 to the price of the average, new single-family home, and nearly $9,000 to the price of a multifamily home since April 2020. Although the housing sector continues to be a leader in the nation’s economic recovery, these sharp price increases threaten housing affordability for all Americans.

The escalating lumber prices are largely due to insufficient domestic production. When prices began their historic rise, NAHB reached out extensively to the Trump Administration, members of Congress and to lumber mills calling for prompt action to address supply shortages that were harming small businesses, home builders and ultimately, the overall economy.

With the new Biden Administration and Congress in place, NAHB is redoubling its efforts to develop short- and long-term solutions to the lumber crisis. NAHB recently led an effort with more than 35 organizations asking Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to examine the lumber supply chain and identify solutions to increase production.