Lumber prices continued to break records in the second quarter of 2021.
Overall price increases are nearing 400 per cent compared with 2019, Opta reports in the latest edition of Reconstruction Cost Updates Canada.
“There was a brief period of decline in late 2020 but that quickly reversed in early 2021, and there’s no apparent end in sight,” the report reads.
What are the impacts?
Opta gives an example of the cost of wood to build a deck using 1,000 board feet. In April 2020, the cost was $308. A year later, the price of wood has ballooned by 400 per cent to $1,130.
As another example, depending on where you are in the country, an Oriented Strand Board (OSB) that cost $12 to $15 two years ago is now selling for up to $56 per sheet. The highest single price for OSB is in Quebec, Opta reports.
“Surprisingly, cabinet prices have not been noticeably affected yet, and prices have increased at their historical rate of about 3% YOY. There’s a ready market building for alternatives to lumber but take up on steel, aluminum, and vinyl (for fencing), for example, will be slow as processes and skill sets need to catch up” the analysts point out.
