Over the past month, organizations within the housing industry have taken note of the quickly increasing price of lumber, which has risen by about 80% since mid-April. An analysis conducted by Robert Dietz, chief economist for NAHB, suggested that the resulting effect of a jump in lumber price will add thousands of dollars to the cost of an average-sized newly built house. Consequently, this would lead to a constraint in housing supply.

 
Not all housing market news is negative; however, the overall industry has been relatively strong in the same four-month time span. Dietz's report illuminated the idea that while overall economic activity and most industries in a general sense have shown massive drops compared to 2019 performances, the housing market has taken strides forward. Dietz explained, "As a result of the gains for housing demand and a slowing in the rate of improvement for the overall economy, the housing share of GDP rose to a 13-year high in the second quarter of 16.2%." This increase came at the same time the National GDP saw record drops.

All the while, the concerning lumber prices may limit the overall industry success and the impact it could have on economic recovery. NAHB president and CEO, Gerald M Howard, acted to fix this issue by bringing it to the White House's attention. Howard wrote, "On behalf of the National Association of Home Builders of the United States (NAHB), I am writing to alert you to the magnitude of the lumber price increases NAHB has seen in recent months and how this disturbing development could hurt the housing sector and the economy."

The message went on to elaborate on how the White House has the capabilities to alleviate the issue by leading domestic lumber producers to increase production, combat growing shortages, and communicate with Canada to create a new softwood lumber agreement.

In explaining the current state of lumber prices, Howard also made the connection to the long-term issue of economic recovery and job creation, "Housing's potential for growth and to lead the economy forward is limited as long as lumber remains expensive and scarce. And the ramifications for job growth are significant. Building 1,000 average single-family homes creates 2,900 full-time jobs and generates $110.96 million in taxes and fees for all levels of government to support police, firefighters, and schools."