As the housing market gets leaner, potential buyers are turning in record numbers to new construction, but several factors are making those homes pricier than ever before.
First is a major shift in the market’s composition due to the record shortage of existing homes available. About 1 in 4 homes for sale are now newly built, the highest share ever. Historically new homes make up about 1 in 10, but fierce buyer competition is behind that shift. Prices for new and existing homes are at record highs.
But it is not just competition fueling prices for new homes. The cost of what goes into the home is adding to it as material and land prices surge.
Lumber prices seem to set a new record almost daily, now up 67% this year and up 340% from a year ago, according to Random Lengths, a wood products industry tracking firm. And lumber doesn’t just go into framing a house. Those added costs hit cabinets, doors, windows and flooring.
original from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/30/soaring-lumber-prices-add-36000-to-the-cost-of-a-new-home.html