Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit Florida, Cuba and surrounding areas, has finally eased up.
In the aftermath of the storm, rebuilding what was destroyed is a long and painful process. Thankfully, the rising cost of building material prices has started to slow down, and even gone down in some cases.
Due to a global economic shutdown, the consistent increase in building material prices is diminishing. The price of lumber (which surged during the pandemic and peaked in January) has returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to NBC News. This is due to a sudden slowdown in construction due to higher mortgage rates and higher home prices.
As well as this, global shipping bottlenecks have eased, which has made more shipping containers available and reduced the cost of freight. Prices for other essential homebuilding commodities like PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and copper are also decreasing, according to market data.
Still, prices for building materials are elevated. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that prices for building materials had climbed 4.9% through the year-to-date, and were up 14.3% over the past year.
