The United States imports approximately 1/3 of our building lumber from British Columbia, where wildfires have claimed 913,000 acres of trees, making this year the worst in more than a decade for lumber shortages.

This in conjunction with trade disputes may cause holdups in building projects, not to mention driving up the material costs for Americans in the process of building their “dream home”. 

In April, the cost of board feet was near a 12-year high; coupled with this new lumber wholesalers’ shortage, indicates that building costs will rise.  Our national average new single-family home price rose to $406,400, a record high according to the Commerce Department.  Too, 1/5^th of U.S. home builders reported a shortage of framing lumber, along with confidence among builders fell to an 8-month low, with concerns over rising lumber costs.  With recent costs in some regions of the U.S. up as much as 20%, our home buyers most likely will be paying those additional dollars passed along by the builders.