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US home construction falls
a surprise 9.5% in April

Original Article

Posted By: NorthernDog, 5/19/2021 8:29:57 AM

WASHINGTON -- U.S. home construction fell a surprisingly sharp 9.5% in April and economists attributed that partially to builders who delayed projects because of a surge in lumber prices and other supply constraints. The April decline left construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.57 million units, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That was down from a rate of 1.73 million units in March, which had been the best showing since homes were constructed at a rate of 1.74 million units in July 2006 at the peak of that decade's housing boom. Applications for building permits, considered a sign of

Comments:

Soaring costs are like a huge wet blanket on the home industry.

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Reply 1 - Posted by: JL80863 5/19/2021 8:41:51 AM (No. 790270)
The clue less AP doesn't know who it's Middle Eastern neighbors are either.
15 people like this.

Reply 2 - Posted by: phosita 5/19/2021 8:48:58 AM (No. 790276)
Only the AP could be surprised by this. In their mind: rising prices of construction materials should result in more construction. An increase in the minimum wage should increase the number of jobs. A shutdown oil pipeline yields an increase in gas.
28 people like this.

Reply 3 - Posted by: Hermit_Crab 5/19/2021 9:13:47 AM (No. 790303)
Anyone surprised by this is a complete idiot. With lumber at about 4X what it was a year ago, and most other building materials at 1.5X to 3X what they were a year ago it is amazing that anything is getting built.
22 people like this.

Reply 4 - Posted by: Hermit_Crab 5/19/2021 9:16:24 AM (No. 790307)
And if you are planning any electrical projects in the next few years, better buy your wire now, because Copper prices could be 8X what they were last year, in just a few months.
12 people like this.

Reply 5 - Posted by: SilkCity 5/19/2021 9:29:19 AM (No. 790323)
"Unexpectedly" used up?
7 people like this.

Reply 6 - Posted by: Ribicon 5/19/2021 9:32:20 AM (No. 790328)
Same thought, #5. They must have exhausted their supply of "unexpectedly" during the first two terms of King Putt's planned demolition of the USA, accompanied by cheers for being a part bLACK closeted homosexual, and fingers of blame pointed at globalist Dubya.
6 people like this.

Reply 7 - Posted by: mean Gene 5/19/2021 9:44:31 AM (No. 790345)
Existing housing is also undergoing an huge inflationary spike. My neighbors sold their place for 15% higher than asking, due to a bidding fight over it. But now, even with all that cash, they can't find a place they like because, as soon as they see one, it is snapped up and sold before they can get out to see it!
6 people like this.

Reply 8 - Posted by: DVC 5/19/2021 9:47:40 AM (No. 790352)
I would bet a lot of them just said....'not going to pay that much for lumber' and stopped the projects.
5 people like this.

Reply 9 - Posted by: Strike3 5/19/2021 10:04:44 AM (No. 790377)
Surprise? I think not. With the price of materials and lack of labor due to extremely generous unemployment charity, it's a wonder that anything is moving. Joe and his flying monkeys are killing the country.
13 people like this.

Reply 10 - Posted by: snowoutlaw 5/19/2021 10:07:33 AM (No. 790382)
Its called Stagflation, a word AP doesn't seem to know. Also notice how they had to blame Trump to deflect the real causes. One of the causes is surely that interest rates will be going up taking many out of the new house market, builders don't want to be stuck with a un-sold homes.
6 people like this.

Reply 11 - Posted by: Hazymac 5/19/2021 10:13:39 AM (No. 790399)
One would have to be stupid to be surprised by falling home construction after the quickest rise on record for forest products.
2 people like this.

Reply 12 - Posted by: red1066 5/19/2021 10:28:08 AM (No. 790415)
When a sheet of plywood costs 50 to 60 dollars. Is it any wonder construction comes to a halt?
4 people like this.

Reply 13 - Posted by: Safari Man 5/19/2021 10:39:41 AM (No. 790430)
The plan is really coming together, eh?
3 people like this.

Reply 14 - Posted by: jasmine 5/19/2021 10:58:37 AM (No. 790451)
FTA: Part of those increases are border taxes imposed by the Trump administration in a trade dispute with Canada. Good news. Canadian lumber companies are expanding their operations on American soil, mostly in the South.
1 person likes this.

Reply 15 - Posted by: edgar 5/19/2021 10:58:48 AM (No. 790452)
Now that dem sits in the WH, all bad news is now back to being 'a surprise'. I guess we have a lot of surprises to look forward to as the bad news will continue to roll out due to poor policy making.
3 people like this.

Reply 16 - Posted by: DVC 5/19/2021 11:29:11 AM (No. 790483)
Georgia Pacific had a plywood plant in central Florida, at Hawthorne, and it closed in 2011. I wonder if they'll re-open it? They were keeping it "in idle status", which I presume means that the machinery was preserved and could be re-used, but I haven't paid any attention for at least 5 years. Seems like, at current prices, they'd be opening every possible plant.
3 people like this.

Reply 17 - Posted by: zephyrgirl 5/19/2021 11:41:24 AM (No. 790503)
The average price of a home in the Denver metro area is now a shocking $500,000. Even at that, bidding wars and offers above the asking price are common. There are more realtors in the state than there are houses for sale. A friend recently sold a condo for over $400,000 (around $60K over the asking price). There is only a limited group of people who can afford to pay that much for a house.
1 person likes this.

Reply 18 - Posted by: TXknitter 5/19/2021 12:36:08 PM (No. 790563)
Yes #7, we know lots of people who could sell their homes at a crazy boom price too but as they say, then WE have to get into crazy budding war to get another home!
2 people like this.

Reply 19 - Posted by: BigGeorgeTX 5/19/2021 1:36:42 PM (No. 790634)
Why the surprise? Have you priced a 2x4 lately?
0 people like this.

Reply 20 - Posted by: JHHolliday 5/19/2021 3:02:12 PM (No. 790765)
Builders and homeowners are deferring construction until they see what direction the country is going. If a developer were to build some houses on spec at an inflated cost because of material prices then the fed raises rates to fight inflation they could be sitting new homes that 99% of people can't afford. Hello, bankruptcy.
3 people like this.

Reply 21 - Posted by: local500 5/19/2021 8:26:23 PM (No. 791020)
No surprise about this. This is what inflation does, high cost of lumber added to that too.
0 people like this.

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