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Lumber Demand And Prices Soar

(CBS DETROIT) – Home improvement projects are becoming more common as more people spend time indoors for work and school.

"This is a common board that you use on the interior," said Brooks Lumber President Raymond Formosa.

And as the demand for materials increase, so does the price.

With lumber being the building block for blueprints you can expect to pay more for it.

"There has been not a single week that lumber has rescinded or stabilized. It has consecutively gone up," said Formosa.

Formosa says prior to the pandemic, a "one by six" white pine board would range around $9, but today a single slab can sell for $22.

"There's a mixed reaction with contractors. Some of them it's a tough pill to swallow because they are absorbing and taking the costs. Many of the contractors had fixed costing as far as their bids go at the time that they were awarded the job and they are held to those pricing," said Formosa.

The Home Builders Association of Michigan says the costs are also bleeding into the housing market as builders scale back on projects or put them on hold until material costs level out.

"It's creating a difficult environment for builders and contractors in trying to provide estimates on the costs of projects for home buyers or for home owners who are doing significant renovations the costs of lumber just in the last year for a typical home in Michigan has gone up $36,000," said Home Builders Association of Michigan CEO Bob Filka.

Industry experts also say mill closures also contributed to the lumber shortage and price hike.

"Manufacturers have to comply with covid work safe rules and so being able to produce as much as they did prior to covid is a challenge for manufacturers," said Filka.

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