Lumber prices are down 50% this year as rising interest rates put a damper on the North
American housing market.
Futures prices for lumber slid yesterday (June 8) to their cheapest level since last September,
falling as low as $568.40 U.S. per 1,000 board feet in Chicago trading.
That decline extends to 50% the drop in lumber price this year. The fall in lumber prices is being
blamed on higher interest rates that are starting to put a chill in home sales.
The collapse in lumber prices is a sharp reversal from the all-time highs set in 2021 during a
pandemic-fueled homebuilding boom in the U.S. and Canada.
U.S. home prices are up 42% since the start of the pandemic, which, combined with higher
interest rates, is making housing unaffordable for many people, say analysts.
