SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – The cost of lumber around the nation has jumped 112%.
These are record high numbers and while lumber is important for a lot of projects, home construction is the biggest, says Mary Thompson the Executive Director at the Home Builders of Central New York.
This is something that has never seen before in the lumber industry, says to Michael Willey, the manager at Willy Lumber Company in Easy Syracuse.
“I’ve worked here all my life, I have never seen anything this crazy at all,” said Willey.
The cost of living in CNY is now at a high because of these lumber prices. Not to mention, it is now $20,000 more expensive to build or renovate a home. For anyone who built a home in the summer of 2020 could have seen their construction bill change.
Some smaller businesses have to take on this extra price. Mary Thompson says this is a problem for small builders.
“Some of the members are having to eat the cost, which means they as a small business won’t be able to stay in business if they can’t show a profit and pay their employee,” said Thompson.
Thompson said it has become a common trend that those building or renovating homes are holding off until lumber prices drop. This is posing as a major threat for business in the future.
