Soaring lumber price adds nearly $19,000 to the cost of a new home

The price of lumber has been on a roller coaster since the start of the pandemic, and it’s climbing a big hill yet again. 

After falling back sharply from a record high in May of last year, lumber prices began climbing again in December. They are now about 22% lower than that peak, but still about three times their average pre-pandemic price, according to Random Lengths. 

That is adding to the cost of both building a new home and remodeling an older one. The National Association of Home Builders estimated the recent price jump added more than $18,600 to the price of…