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

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires NSC Officials a Day After Far-Right Activist Raises Concerns to Him

DON'T MISS

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

DON'T MISS

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

DON'T MISS

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

DON'T MISS

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

DON'T MISS

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

DON'T MISS

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

UP NEXT

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

UP NEXT

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

UP NEXT

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

UP NEXT

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

UP NEXT

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

UP NEXT

President Trump’s Tariffs Could Be the Political Tipping Point

UP NEXT

Order That Kept Water in the Kern River Reversed by 5th District Court of Appeal

UP NEXT

No More Calling ‘Shotgun?’ CA Could Ban Teens From Riding in Front Seat

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Christopher Robert Sharkey

UP NEXT

Diehard Baseball Fans in Sacramento Welcome Athletics and Hope They Stay Awhile

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

3 hours ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

3 hours ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

3 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

4 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

6 hours ago

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

6 hours ago

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

6 hours ago

Pentagon’s Watchdog to Review Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Convey Plans for Houthi Strike

6 hours ago

President Trump’s Tariffs Could Be the Political Tipping Point

7 hours ago

Order That Kept Water in the Kern River Reversed by 5th District Court of Appeal

7 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

GV Wire’s Edward Smith talks with KMPH Fox 26 “Great Day” anchor Christina Rodriguez about the possibility of CEMEX digging a 600-foot hole ...

1 hour ago

1 hour ago

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
1 hour ago

Trump Fires NSC Officials a Day After Far-Right Activist Raises Concerns to Him

2 hours ago

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

3 hours ago

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

3 hours ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

3 hours ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, seated right, gives a thumbs-up alongside his wife Lisa Oz, seated left, with friends and family after he testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)
4 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

6 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

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

Search

Send this to a friend