Homeowners who resisted the urge to renovate during the first 18 months of the pandemic may find now is their chance, as lumber prices that soared to dizzying heights in the spring have crashed back down to earth.

At family-run Peacock Lumber in Oshawa, Ont., owner Glen Peacock said retail prices have B次元官网网址渃ollapsedB次元官网网址� in recent weeks. An eight-foot-long, two-by-four inch piece of framing lumber that cost $12.65 on June 1 is now selling for $3.95, Peacock said B次元官网网址� basically what it would have sold for before the boom.

B次元官网网址淚t was amazing it went as long as it did before people said B次元官网网址榯his is too much money,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� Peacock said. B次元官网网址淧eople who waited, if they could, to do their projects are going to be in a much better position.B次元官网网址�

A pandemic-driven surge in home renovations and do-it-yourself projects sent shock waves through the home improvement and construction industries earlier this year. North American lumber prices hit record highs of more than US$1,600 per thousand board feet in May B次元官网网址� three times higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The price roller-coaster had customers pre-ordering lumber months in advance to ensure supply and even resulted in a spate of opportunistic thefts from construction sites across North America.

But the ride has come back down even faster than it went up and that means many retailers have been stuck trying to get rid of product they purchased at higher prices.

B次元官网网址淲ith lumber prices falling as fast as they did, it forced everybody to sell their overpriced inventory at a loss,B次元官网网址� said Joel Seibert, owner of Mountain View Building Materials just outside of Calgary. B次元官网网址淲hat would have been the ideal situation would be for the price to take twice as long to come back down as it did to go up.B次元官网网址�

Liz Kovach B次元官网网址� president of the Western Retail Lumber Association, which represents retail lumber, building supply and hardware stores in Western Canada B次元官网网址� said the pandemic price bubble burst with the arrival of summer. Warmer weather and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions across the country resulted in Canadians travelling more and spending less time on projects around the house, she said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been a challenge on the retail side,B次元官网网址� Kovach said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e seen a lot of blowout price sales, just so that they can move the materials.B次元官网网址�

The plunging prices have already led to curtailments and reduced operations at sawmills. Vancouver-based Canfor Corp. said at the end of August that it will run all of its B.C. sawmills at 80 per cent capacity until market conditions improve. Conifex Timber Inc., also based in Vancouver, announced Aug. 20 that it would curtail lumber production at its Mackenzie, B.C., sawmill for a two-week period.

The rapid rise in lumber costs earlier this year added B次元官网网址渢ens of thousands of dollars per homeB次元官网网址� to new home construction costs, said Kevin Lee, chief executive of the Canadian Home BuildersB次元官网网址� Association. And while consumers may already be benefiting from lower prices at home improvement stores, homebuyers signing new construction purchase contracts are still seeing elevated prices.

B次元官网网址淏uilders still have to clear their inventories of having purchased higher-priced lumber. It takes a while to clear the system,B次元官网网址� Lee said. B次元官网网址淵es, lumber prices from the mills came down dramatically over the summer, but thatB次元官网网址檚 unfortunately taken a while to reach the rest of the industry and consumers.B次元官网网址�

Lee said when it comes to new home construction, pricing is being complicated by ongoing pandemic-related supply chain challenges. While difficulties related to lumber have eased, homebuilders are still dealing with delivery delays and price inflation on everything from plumbing and electrical products to kitchen cabinetry.

B次元官网网址淚t doesnB次元官网网址檛 compare to the three to five times price increases we saw with lumber, but IB次元官网网址檇 say on average weB次元官网网址檙e seeing 10 per cent increases on everything including the kitchen sink,B次元官网网址� Lee said. B次元官网网址淎nd we are still seeing delays on closings, just because of an inability to get products and materials.B次元官网网址�

In a note to clients earlier this week, RBC Dominion Securities analyst Paul Quinn said with the arrival of fall, lumber markets are already beginning to tick slightly higher. Home centres are noticing increased traffic as customers try to finish projects before winter, Quinn said, and retail demand tends to be a leading indicator for lumber pricing.

B次元官网网址擜manda Stephenson, The Canadian Press