Is Lumber, the New Gold?

With lumber prices soaring to record highs, we wanted to ask our supplier of lumber and wood products we use at The Park in Garden Heights to weigh in on the demand. This blog post has been provided by Rob DeRegt of Wolf Creek Building Supplies.

Wearing masks in Walmart, distancing from family and friends, sanitizing hands every chance we can get, is this the new norm? COVID-19 has been a pandemic that has changed the world and it has spiralled many economies into a devastating state. Lumber and sheet goods started its climb in May of 2020. Forecasters in the industry predicted this to not last long and to ride it out. But as the months progressed, we soon realized we were in for the long haul and reaching the highest prices this industry has ever seen! The lumber mills have never been caught up on order files since the start of this pandemic. Mill closures reduced staff and the unknown all played factors. The US accelerated house construction due to demand did not help with shortages/pricing either. The US also had order files that our Canadian mills had to fulfil, meaning if a load was ready it was common for it to already be sold and destined south of the border.

Why the headline ‘Is Lumber, the New Gold’? I had a customer come to me in the middle of all this who couldn’t understand why he was paying $23 for a sheet of OSB. So, we had a talk where I explained what has happened and where we are going. He said to me “I may just hold this OSB and resell it for more than Gold in a month”. There was truth to that statement. This May to September we have seen lumber & sheet goods over double in price, in turn increasing the price of a build $15-30k. Many home builders continue to keep pushing through these prices and commence building as planned in hopes the statement ‘What goes up must come down’ will happen sooner rather than later. Do we build? Do we wait for relief in pricing? Those are the big questions in the uncertain market we are all involved in.

-Rob DeRegt of Wolf Creek Building Supplies.

Now is the time to buy!

Buy an immediate possession home at The Park in Garden Heights now! All of our move-in ready townhomes have been constructed with lumber purchased at pre-pandemic prices. Plus, with our new pricing on all move-in ready homes, you benefit again.

Visit our showhomes at 27 Gair Close or call Kevin at 403-588-2392 to book a private appointment to view any of our quick possession homes.