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 91裸聊视频渃ollapsed91裸聊视频� 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 91裸聊视频� basically what it would have sold for before the boom.

91裸聊视频淚t was amazing it went as long as it did before people said 91裸聊视频榯his is too much money,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� Peacock said. 91裸聊视频淧eople who waited, if they could, to do their projects are going to be in a much better position.91裸聊视频�

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 91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淲ith lumber prices falling as fast as they did, it forced everybody to sell their overpriced inventory at a loss,91裸聊视频� said Joel Seibert, owner of Mountain View Building Materials just outside of Calgary. 91裸聊视频淲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.91裸聊视频�

Liz Kovach 91裸聊视频� president of the Western Retail Lumber Association, which represents retail lumber, building supply and hardware stores in Western Canada 91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 been a challenge on the retail side,91裸聊视频� Kovach said. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e seen a lot of blowout price sales, just so that they can move the materials.91裸聊视频�

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 91裸聊视频渢ens of thousands of dollars per home91裸聊视频� to new home construction costs, said Kevin Lee, chief executive of the Canadian Home Builders91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淏uilders still have to clear their inventories of having purchased higher-priced lumber. It takes a while to clear the system,91裸聊视频� Lee said. 91裸聊视频淵es, lumber prices from the mills came down dramatically over the summer, but that91裸聊视频檚 unfortunately taken a while to reach the rest of the industry and consumers.91裸聊视频�

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.

91裸聊视频淚t doesn91裸聊视频檛 compare to the three to five times price increases we saw with lumber, but I91裸聊视频檇 say on average we91裸聊视频檙e seeing 10 per cent increases on everything including the kitchen sink,91裸聊视频� Lee said. 91裸聊视频淎nd we are still seeing delays on closings, just because of an inability to get products and materials.91裸聊视频�

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.

91裸聊视频擜manda Stephenson, The Canadian Press