Great News For Maine – Lumber Prices Finally Becoming Affordable

Just like the price of real estate in Maine, and across the country, the price of lumber has gone through the roof over the last year-ish.  There is a good chance you know at least a few people who had planned to do some home renovations during the "quarantine", but bailed on the idea because of the insane prices on lumber and other building supplies.

It appears that contractors, and those who want to make home renovations, are finally getting some good news.

According to CNBC, the price of lumber in many places is dropping.

The price of lumber dropped a near record 40% in the month of June.  This is way down from the peak price of $1,670.50 per thousand board feet on May 7th.

Because of all that has happened in the last year, it may be hard to remember that prices were way down at the beginning of the pandemic in March and April of 2020.

It makes sense, though.  As people realized they were going to be stuck at home for a lengthy period of time, they started making plans to fix the things about their home they started to notice when they were first forced to stay home in mid-March.  As we went into "new normal" mode, people started hiring those contractors to do the work.   At that point, the demand increased significantly, while the supply was slightly below normal (due to temporary pandemic shutdowns).  This drove prices up.

Now that things, at least here in the United States, are getting back to normal.  People are now focusing more on vacations, and less on home improvements.

What's next for those who want to renovate or build a new stick-built home?  Well, like nearly every industry in Maine, contractors and construction companies are having difficulties in finding the needed labor.  So, even if the building materials are available, you may still have to wait to have your work done - unless you are a DIYer.

The CNBC report has a much more in-depth breakdown.  Find it HERE