Soaring lumber and wood panel prices are adding thousands of dollars to the cost of building a home in Canada as strong renovation and new housing demand outstrip supply.

The latest price list from research firm Random Lengths released Thursday shows SPF (spruce, pine, fir) two-by-four boards at a “mindboggling” record level of US$760 per thousand board feet, up $82 on the week, according to Kevin Mason, managing director of ERA Forest Products Research.

“You’ve got buyers who care more about just getting product than they do about the price,” he said in an interview.

“The companies have purchase orders sitting on the desk and it’s, like, when you get product, send it to us, and just tell us what we owe you. Buyers don’t care. Right now, it’s an absolute panic, a scramble to get product.”

The run-up over the past several weeks has demolished the previous North American record high of US$650 set in mid-2018, he said, adding prices for other building products are rising just as quickly.

Homebuilders say increases this year to date will translate into $8,000 to $10,000 more to build a typical single-family house in Canada.

Jayman Built Homes will have to consider passing on its higher costs to customers when lumber supply contracts expire at the end of August, said president and chief operating officer Dave Desormeaux.

“Most builders, I believe, would just pass it on and increase the price of a home for the cost of the materials,” he said, adding his firm, which plans to build about 700 homes this year in Edmonton and Calgary, has the capacity to absorb short-term commodity fluctuations.

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