Mary: I’m Mary Walden with economist MW welcoming you to the economic perspective. Today’s program looks at construction costs. Mike, since we’re now officially in a recession, I would expect many prices would fall. But I’ve seen one price – the price of lumber -go in the opposite direction – up. What’s been different with lumber?
Mike: Summary Answer
- Indeed, lumber prices are now higher than pre-recession
- Two things happened that weren’t expected
- Building activity continued during the virus
- Second, with people being home-bound and not taking vacations, many have used this time to make home improvements, like decks and fences
- Some now look at their homes as offices and places where they will home-school – so have put on additions
- Lumber prices will ultimately drop, but for right now, lumber is more valuable
- I’m MW
Mary: And I’m Mary Walden for the Economic Perspective, an NC State Extension program from the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.