Building materials prices aren’t on the downswing, even following a drop in softwood lumber prices, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
Recent drops in softwood lumber prices have helped bring costs down, after record prices earlier this year, but the decline has been offset by increases in other building materials prices.
According to NAHB, the prices of these 10 materials have increased the most in 2021, and all are up at least 30%:
- Steel mill products
- Building paper and building board mill products
- Asphalt
- Plastic water pipe
- Fertilizer materials
- Laminated veneer lumber
- Thermoplastic resins and plastics materials
- Structural metal joists and concrete reinforcing bars
- Wood window and door frames
- Copper pipe and tube
Over the first seven months of 2021, NAHB says, the majority of these products’ prices have increased many times more than they did in 2020. The price change of steel mill products is the most glaring example, up 81.3% year to date following a 2020 increase of 11.1%.
See more at NAHB’s NAHBNow blog.
