Lumber prices in East Texas begin to ease down

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - There may be some light at the end of the tunnel for East Texans who are feeling the effects of inflated lumber prices.

Indicators show lumber prices are falling.

For lumber shoppers in the past two weeks, it may have been hard not to flinch when seeing the prices of plywood, 2-by-4s, and other lumber.

The prices were just too much for some.

“The next project we were going to do is fix our front porch, do some railings. Now that’s completely scrapped. It’s just too expensive right now,” said Longview homeowner Courtney Gradberg.

Less expensive wood cuts costs, but wood is still pricy.

“For just the lumber, and we couldn’t even get the treated stuff, it was over 300 dollars,” Gradberg said.

“I went and bought, I needed one piece of plywood, 3-quarter inch, finished on both sides. 78 bucks. which was of course a little over double what I would expect to pay for such a thing,” said Steve Chamblee.

While prices have come down a little bit on things like 8-foot 2 by 4s, essential building materials like plywood remain pricy.

A recent report shows lumber had extended losses to trade below $800-hundred dollars per thousand board feet, the lowest level since January.

Demand is slowing while sawmills invest to increase output.

“Our system for producing goods and services has been so efficient for so long, that we’re used to getting things cheap,” Chamblee said.

However, higher building costs and the price of lumber are starting to weigh on the market and slow the pace of homebuilding.

“If the prices don’t go down considerably, there’s nothing we can do at the moment. It’s going to take years for us to save up enough for these new additions,” Gradberg said.

Though the price of lumber is falling, analysts say they most likely “will not” fall back to pre-pandemic levels.

Copyright 2021 KLTV. All rights reserved.