Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Soaring Lumber Costs Push New Home Prices Up. Local Sellers Play Guessing Game.
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 5 years ago on
September 26, 2020

Share

Lumber prices have skyrocketed since mid-April, rising 130% and increasing the cost of a single-family home by more than $16,000 according to the National Association of Homebuilders.

Jeff Klearman, portfolio manager at GraniteShares, a New York-based exchange-traded fund provider, told International Business Times that lumber prices have been rising primarily due to increased housing demand which has resulted in increased lumber demand.

“Demand for new homes has strongly increased due to a number of factors, including COVID-19 related relocation from urban to suburban areas, historically low mortgage rates and existing low inventory levels of new homes,” Klearman said. “Demand for lumber also increased as result of damage due to recent hurricane-related weather and wildfires along the west coast.”

The high costs are impacting Fresno lumber providers who are trying to play a guessing game about what prices will be like once lumber is available. Housing demand is also pushing prices up as the supply is less than half of normal right now in Fresno County.

Fresno Lumber Suppliers

“We deal mainly with cedar and redwood products here. There’s been a steady but only slight increase (in prices). The fir market has just skyrocketed,” said John Eliason, co-owner of Fresno’s Eliason Lumber.

Jeff Perritte one of the owners of White Pine Lumber Distributors in northwest Fresno says he’s doing what he has to do to stay in business. “My prices have more than doubled,” Perritte tells GV Wire℠  over the phone. “Prices since March and April have gone up every week.”

Perritte says one of the major lumber mills on the Oregon coast has been cut off by wildfire. His broker tells him the mill has 350 loads just sitting there waiting for the roads to reopen again before they can be shipped. In the meantime, there’s no room to cut and stand wood so the mill is essentially at a standstill. But Perritte says he needs to keep lumber on hand no matter what because that’s what his buyers expect. “If I don’t have lumber, they’ll go somewhere else that does,” says Perritte.

“Here’s the scary part for a lumber company,” explains Perritte. “If I buy the lumber at these high prices now, and all of a sudden there’s a sharp drop in price I’ll have to take a loss on it.”

Home Prices Going Up

Don Scordino, President of the Fresno Association of Realtors says he’s only somewhat familiar with the lumber price issue. He’s sure of one thing, “That would be one of many things that are causing prices to go up.”

Scordino says there just aren’t enough homes being built to keep up with the demand. “Of your existing homes there’s only a little over 1,000 in Fresno County that are active. A normal market would be 2,000-2,500,” said Scordino, a realtor himself.

“I had a house for sale last week in northwest Fresno. In two days we had 6 offers.”

Scordino adds that for years California has had overregulated building policies. “There’s just not enough new homes being built to meet the demand of all the qualified buyers,” said Scordino.

DON'T MISS

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

DON'T MISS

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

DON'T MISS

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

DON'T MISS

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

DON'T MISS

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

DON'T MISS

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

DON'T MISS

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

DON'T MISS

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

DON'T MISS

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

DON'T MISS

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

UP NEXT

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

UP NEXT

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

UP NEXT

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

UP NEXT

The ‘Six’ Wives of King Henry VIII Sing Their Hearts Out in Fresno

UP NEXT

7-Year-Old Girl Was Killed by a Falling Boulder at a Lake Tahoe Ski Resort

UP NEXT

Xavier Becerra Enters 2026 California Governor’s Race

UP NEXT

Reps. Costa, Gray Propose Bill to Address Critical Doctor Shortage in Rural Areas

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Yakista Ceeblaj Lor

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

7 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

8 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

8 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

8 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

9 hours ago

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

9 hours ago

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

9 hours ago

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

9 hours ago

Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the US

9 hours ago

Fresno Man Found Dead, Coroner’s Office Seeks Help Finding Family

10 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night that would thwart President Donald Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada, ...

3 hours ago

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, is joined from left by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., as they speak to reporters about President Donald Trump's tariffs on foreign countries, at the Capitol, in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
3 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

6 hours ago

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

7 hours ago

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

A young Labrador mix rescued from a Fresno canal on Sunday, March 2, 2025, is thriving in a foster home after overcoming fear and trauma. (Instagram/Fresno Animal Center)
7 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

8 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

8 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

8 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

9 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend