The national housing market has certainly seen some ups and downs since March 2020. While extremely high demand for new housing caused supplies to dwindle quickly, unprecedented costs for lumber and other building materials drove costs up for homebuyers and prohibited builders from starting new projects at the rate they needed to. We are finally seeing some shifts as the market corrects itself.
Home construction materials coming back down in price
In early spring 2021, lumber had risen to 300% above its pre-pandemic price. Now that demand has eased a bit (because of high prices), and lumber mills are ramping production back up, lumber prices continue to fall. In early July, the cost of lumber was down nearly 50% compared to its all-time high on May 28, 2021 (Random Length Market Watch).
What this means for home buyers
A builder’s cost for securing lumber and other building products will almost always reflect in the final price of the home for buyers. Since builders are currently paying less per thousand board feet than we have in months, we are able to pass those savings on to our customers. Of course, the market is still volatile as it corrects itself, so there’s no guarantee of how lumber prices will change in the future. We recommend locking in a lower price while you can.Â
Charlotte still offers great housing opportunities
Charlotte is a fast-growing city (behind only Austin from 2019-2020), but median home prices are still below the national average, making Charlotte an attractive area to relocate to from more expensive markets like Chicago and New York City. Home prices continue to rise, however, so it’s smart to take advantage of any dips in home prices.
