Why New Homes Are About to Get Pricier #realestate #homeownership

Source:  Builder

With the cost of building materials jumping 25 percent year over year, according to the National Association of Home Builder's NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, builders are increasingly concerned about how this will affect home buyers in the new-construction market.  In 2016, builders ranked the cost of building materials low on their list of concerns - but now it's one of their top five.

The increased cost of lumber is a chief catalyst.  "Negotiations on a new softwood lumber agreement between the United States and Canada ground to a halt at the end of 2026 and likely are stalled pending the results of an investigation into unfair import practices requested by the U.S. Lumber Coalition," the NAHB reports.

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