Concrete Products Lead Building Materials Prices Higher

2023-03-15T12:19:54-05:00

After four consecutive declines, the producer price index (PPI) for inputs to residential construction less energy (i.e., building materials) rose 0.3% in February 2023 (not seasonally adjusted) follow a 1.1% increase in January (revised), according to the latest PPI report. Price growth of goods inputs to residential construction, including energy, gained 0.4% over the month. Prices have increased 2.9% over the past 12 months. Ready-Mix Concrete The trend of ready-mix concrete (RMC) prices continued its historic pace as the index increased 0.8% in February after gaining 0.7% in January (revised).  RMC prices have increase in all but two months since January 2021. The monthly increase in the national data was broad-based geographically but was primarily driven by a 4.2% increase in the Northeast. Prices 0.8% in the West, 0.5% in the South, and were unchanged in the Midwest. Softwood Lumber The PPI for softwood lumber (seasonally adjusted) fell 0.8% in February–the seventh consecutive monthly decline. Since peaking in March 2022, the index has fallen by nearly half (-47.1%) but is still nearly 20% above the January 2020 level. Gypsum Building Materials The PPI for gypsum building materials climbed 0.5% in February after edging down very slightly the month prior. Gypsum products prices are 12.5% higher than they were a year ago but began stabilizing in August 2022. Prices have been stable—up just 0.7%–in the six months since. Steel Mill Products Steel mill products prices increased 2.6% in February, more than offsetting the 2.4% decline seen the month prior. This was the first monthly price increase since May 2022. Even so, prices have dropped 26.0% since May 2022 and are down 21.2% over the past 12 months. Services The price index of services inputs to residential construction rose 0.2% in February following a 0.7% increase in January. Prices have declined 7.7% over the past year despite increasing in four of the past five months. Transportation of Freight The price of truck, deep sea (i.e., ocean), and rail transportation of freight decreased 0.8%, 0.5% and 1.1%, respectively, in February. Of the three modes of shipping, trucking prices have exhibited the largest slowdown since early 2022. Related ‹ Builder Confidence Edges Higher in March but Future Outlook UncertainTags: Building Materials, building materials prices, construction costs, Gypsum, inflation, lumber, ppi, producer price index, ready-mix concrete, softwood lumber, steel

Concrete Products Lead Building Materials Prices Higher2023-03-15T12:19:54-05:00

Cost of Constructing a Home in 2022

2023-03-09T08:16:14-06:00

By Eric Lynch on March 9, 2023 • The NAHB recently published its latest Cost of Construction Survey. Results show that 60.8% of the average home sale price consisted of construction costs, essentially unchanged from the 61.1% posted in 2019. Since the inception of this series in 1998, this was the fourth time construction costs represent over 60% of the total price of the home (2013: 61.7%, 2015: 61.8%, and 2019: 61.1%). The finished lot category was the second largest cost at 17.8% of the sales price, down from 18.5% in 2019. The average builder profit margin was 10.1% in 2022, compared to 9.1% in 2019. At 5.1% in 2022, overhead and general expenses were also essentially unchanged when compared to 2019 (4.9%). The remainder of the average home sale price consisted of sales commission (3.6%), financing costs (1.9%), and marketing costs (0.7%). These percentages are also similar to their 2019 breakdowns. Survey respondents broke down construction costs into 8 major construction stages. Interior finishes, at 24.0%, accounted for the largest share of construction costs, followed by framing (20.5%), major system rough-ins (17.9%), exterior finishes (11.8%), foundations (11.0%), site work (7.4%), final steps (5.9%), and other costs (1.5%). Explore the interactive dashboard below to view the costs and percentage of construction costs for the 8 components and their 36 subcomponents. Table 1 shows the same results as the dashboard above in table format.  Please click here to be redirected to the full report (which includes historical results back to 1998). Related ‹ Significant Drop for Construction Job OpeningsTags: construction costs, Cost of Constructing a Home, cost of construction, Expenses, profit margin

Cost of Constructing a Home in 20222023-03-09T08:16:14-06:00

Building Materials Prices Increase in January Reversing Four-Month Trend

2023-02-16T18:16:47-06:00

By David Logan on February 16, 2023 • After four consecutive declines, the producer price index (PPI) for inputs to residential construction less energy (i.e. building materials) rose 0.9% in January 2023 (not seasonally adjusted) according to the latest PPI report. Price growth of goods inputs to residential construction, including energy, gained 1.4% over the month. Prices have increased 5.1% over the past 12 months. Ready-Mix Concrete The trend of ready-mix concrete (RMC) prices continued its historic pace as the index increased 0.9% in January after surging 13.6% in 2022.  RMC prices have increase in all but two months since January 2021. Gypsum Building Materials The PPI for gypsum building materials was unchanged in January, following a 0.2% decline in December 2022. Gypsum products prices are 11.1% higher than they were a year ago but began stabilizing in August 2022. In the five months since, prices have been essentially unchanged. Softwood Lumber The PPI for softwood lumber (seasonally adjusted) fell 7.6%–the sixth straight monthly decline. Over that period, the index has decreased 23.3%. Steel Mill Products Steel mill products prices decreased 2.3% in January after falling 3.3% in December 2022. Although the pace of declines has slowed, prices have dropped 27.8% since May 2022 and are down 30.1% over the past 12 months. Related ‹ Single-Family Built-for-Rent Growth Strong in 2022Tags: construction costs, Gypsum, inflation, lumber, ppi, producer price index, producer prices, ready-mix concrete, softwood lumber, steel

Building Materials Prices Increase in January Reversing Four-Month Trend2023-02-16T18:16:47-06:00

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