Contractors surveyed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said they often ran into serious, or at least some, shortages when they tried ordering material or goods. Ninety-four percent of people surveyed, for example, said they found appliances were in short supply: 90% said plywood was harder to come by; and 75% said vinyl siding was more difficult to acquire.
As for prices, softwood lumber – used for framing a house or building a deck – was up 121% in April from a year earlier, while the cost of marble was up by 6.5% in the same time period.
“I've heard refrigerators and microwaves are sitting in container ships off the port of Los Angeles that needed to be unloaded and then delivered,” Dietz says.
Disruptions in the production of components used in household goods, like resins, are also playing a role, he says: “Resin production was interrupted with the winter storm that affected the Texas area. And that's having follow-on effects ... for example, outdoor furniture cushions, which are now in short supply.”
In recent months, overall costs for construction material in residential home have risen 12% compared with last year, according to the NAHB.
“Unfortunately, what we're hearing from the manufacturers, what builders are telling me is our expectation is these kinds of delays and higher costs are going to persist into 2022,” Dietz says.
Rising softwood lumber prices over the past 12 months have added $35,872 to the price of an average new single-family home, and $12,966 to the market value of an average new multifamily home, according to the NAHB.
