Shades of Venezuela!
This is what we get when we let government employees control our lives. Almost 300 percent inflation in lumber in one year. This while we’re being told that inflation is totally under control, running at less than two percent per year.
3/4” Plywood Standard:
March 2020 – $37.98 /sheet
February 2021 – $72.49 /sheet
March 2021 – $83.49 /sheet
April 2021 – $95.98 /sheet
(Copied from a Real Estate site and the price is from Canada)
Lest you think this is an isolated incident, let me quote from an article that came out just last week in my local newspaper.
Shortages of lumber and other building materials have added thousands to the cost of new homes or forced homebuyers to downsize on the home of their dreams, said the Hood County News.
“The lumber spike has added an additional $24,000 to the cost of an average, new single-family home since last April, according to the National Association of Homebuilders. The additional costs are even more for larger homes and those with more upscale amenities.
$80,000 lumber package!
A year and a half ago, a $400,000 home built by his company would involve about $35,000 worth of lumber, said Donny Couto of Couto Homes. Today, that same amount of lumber costs more like $80,000 – and is continuing to rise…. causing some clients to hold off on building or to reduce the square footage of their home.
Couto said that copper, concrete and steel rebar are seeing “significant increases” as well, and there are sometimes delays with appliances, which are often made oversees.
“Everyone is in the same position,” Couto said of fellow homebuilders across the nation. “Everyone is dealing with some kind of supply chain issue.”
Couto said that his company is currently “eating” $15,000-$18,000 per home because prices are locked in once a client signs a contract, but the cost of materials continues to rise during the construction process.
“We’re taking considerable financial hits,” said Couto.
“It’s crazy. Prices are just off the charts,” said Casey Wallace, chief operating officer for Henson Lumber in nearby Cresson.
The cost of the wood panel product Waferboard, or Oriented Strand Board (OSB) – “one of the big items used in new construction” – has risen more than 300% since COVID-19 hit, Wallace said.
The supply chain problems have caused some companies to take “force majeure,” said Wallace.
Force majeure is a clause included in business contracts to remove liability for natural and unavoidable catastrophes that cause disruptions and an inability to fulfill obligations.
In some cases home prices are 30% higher than they would have been if built a year ago, said Will Steed of Will Steed Homes, who has been building custom homes in Hood County and surrounding areas for 22 years.
The article goes on to blame the price increases on supply-chain problems brought on by the pandemic. This is most likely true, but it truly shows what can happen when we let government bureaucrats, in many cases unelected government bureaucrats, dictate our lives.
See entire article, entitled “Pandemic-induced delays in delivering building materials driving up costs”:
The post Our government says there’s almost no inflation? Think again appeared first on Ice Age Now.
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April 13, 2021 at 09:54AM
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