The Perfect Storm has led to Lumber, Panel and Building Materials Cost Skyrocketing

John Gunkelman is the owner of Fargo’s Dakota Construction and is the immediate past president of the Home Builders Association of Fargo-Moorhead. Gunkleman sums up the current spike in lumber, panels and building materials in just ten words, “The numbers are just kind of going through the roof.” Gunkleman goes onto say that price increases have prompted more builders to put time limits on their construction bids, or to add price-escalator clauses to contracts to protect their own bottom lines. Adding “Random length lumber since April has increased 130%. …The other thing with the prices increases, we’re getting quite a delay on delivery on quite a few things. Framing lumber has gone up about 80% since April. The OSB has gone up about 100% from a year ago.”  What Gunkleman is describing is being called by many industry leaders as the ‘Perfect Storm’. Supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and robust home construction and remodeling demand fueled by low interest rates. All combing at same time to boost the prices builders – and ultimately homeowners – are paying for dimensional lumber, oriented strand board, plywood, timber trusses and other building products. The increased price for building materials has not hindered demand, with the higher prices adding only a few dollars to monthly payments due to low mortgage rates.