Lumber prices across the country begin to fall

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. – After hitting records, lumber prices across the country are beginning to fall. 

“I think everyone is pretty familiar that we have seen a good hike in lumber prices, we are thankfully starting to see those prices come down,” said Home Depot Store Manager Art Seyffert. “Not to where they started at, but they have seen a significant drop, so that is definetly encouraging.”

Tom Smythe, a finance professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, said the demand for lumber has stayed high, but said with the potential for Tropical Storm Elsa, or other storms, to hit Southwest Florida, the demand could go up even more. 

“There might be some small incremental price increases, but with any gouging laws, retailers are on notice to be very careful,” Smythe said. 

“Any price increases that you might see as a result of the impending storm, they are not going to last past the occurrence of the storm itself,” he added.

Seyffert said at his store located in North Fort Myers, even if demand increases, they would not increase the prices. 

“We would definitely not want to raise prices because of a storm, we wouldn’t do that. The only way we charge more is if we have to pay more for it,” Seyffert said. 

It’s uncertain how long it will take for lumber prices to return to normal, but Seyffert said he was confident prices would continue to drop. 

“I am very positive and I feel confident it will keep going down,” Seyffert said. “I don’t know that it is going to go down super quick, but even if it’s a couple dollars a week that adds up and hopefully we can get back to a pre COVID pricing.”

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