Lumber Prices Begin To Fall After Record Highs

Lumber prices are starting to drop for the first time in more than a year.

Just over a year ago, lumber prices were hitting record highs.

The lower prices are thanks to more people returning to work, which means producers can now increase supply.

"With the whole COVID situation when it was high, companies couldn't get people in to work,” said Efe Mowarin, with M&M Lumber Co in Tulsa. “So that kind of changed the prices when it was sky high, but as of right now, things are starting to die down, so that's why there’s a decrease in prices."

The fall in lumber prices means it’s cheaper to build houses.

Experts say this could have a positive impact on the real estate market.

"I've talked to some of the realtors that've come in here, they're lowering some of the prices down,” said Mark Gould, with Day’s Building Materials in Tulsa. “So I think we're going to start seeing, prices got really high the last couple of years, so I think we are going to start to see that level off a little bit.”

Gould said he hopes the downward trend carries over to other building materials.

When it comes to materials the U.S. buys from overseas, the prices are still high.

"There's other countries that still don't have their full workforce back, where they don't have enough people to produce the product, so it's still affecting it because of that,” said Gould. “Shipping is still an issue, freight is probably our biggest expense of anything right now."

Professionals recommend people no longer put off their projects and take advantage of these lower prices.

"As far as people doing builds, and projects that they're working on, right now would be a good time to buy material and get your projects done," said Mowarin.

With fears the U.S. could be headed towards a recession, both professionals say there really is no way to know what the future will look like, because prices change every day.