US lumber prices dragged down by housing affordability and the post-pandemic bubble

The twin-peaked lumber bubble of 2021 and 2022 that once drove home building costs through the roof and exacerbated inflation is now nothing more than a memory. Spot lumber prices have plummeted 75% from their May 2021 record high of $1,514 per thousand board feet to just $366 this week, roughly matching pre-pandemic levels, according to Random Lengths’ Framing Lumber Composite Price Index. Lumber’s price drop has been particularly dramatic in just the last 90 days in the futures market, with contract prices for July falling 28% to $466 per thousand board feet (futures prices ...