NAHB is encouraging members to sign their names to a letter to the White House urging action to address the issues that threaten to derail the current housing and economic expansion. "An important first step to address housing affordability challenges in this current high-inflation environment would be to immediately suspend tariffs on softwood lumber imports from Canada and to move quickly to enter into negotiations with Canada to pursue a new, long-term softwood lumber agreement...And seeking immediate remedies to lumber and building material supply chain bottlenecks will lower construction costs and increase production of badly needed affordable housing," the letter states. "As monetary policy tightens to combat the elevated pace of inflation, regulatory and…

According to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy (not seasonally adjusted) climbed 1.4% in March, following an upwardly revised increase of 2.2% in February and 4.1% in January. This adds up to an 8% jump in building materials prices since the start of 2022. Building materials prices increased 20.4% year over year and have risen 33% since the start of the pandemic. The price index of services inputs to residential construction registered even steeper increases, rising 3.2% in March, 5.1% in February and 6.2% in January. As a result, the price index of services used in home building (including…