The price of lumber is now plunging after record highs just two months ago. Homebuilders in Houston, however, are still dealing with the high costs of materials. Even with lumber falling from its all-time high in May, sheet metal, copper, and plastics are all rising.
“Things in the construction world go up very fast and go down very slow. That’s just the nature of the beast,” Mike Dishberger, CEO of Sandcastle Homes, said.
He says increased demand, low interest rates, and rising inflation are all reasons why. Lumber prices, in particular, soared by as much as 316% from the start of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused supply chain bottlenecks.
“The price to new construction is going to go nowhere but up. This is not going to go back down again,” Dishberger explained. “Even as supply increases, say the copper is going to go down, and the lumber is going to go down. They will never ever go to that point they were when they started rising.”
In addition, the price of luxury homes continues to rise locally. Upper end home sales in Houston reached new highs in June, pushing prices to record levels.