By Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-September 2022 gave back its gains in August as an uneventful hurricane season and increased mortgage interest rates continued to dampen down commodity pricing. Over the last 30 days, the Index dropped 2.9 percent to $53,224 which is near levels during the beginning of […]
By Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-August 2022 increased 3.3 percent to $54,798 from last month, and this is the first increase to the Index since March, which probably indicates the wood commodity markets have solidly hit bottom, and that inflation in other building material sectors continues due to higher […]
By Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-July 2022 dropped 3.2 percent to $53,041 primarily on falling prices in sheathing which have reversed course in the last week. This Index is 4.1 percent more than last July, and while this percent increase sounds encouraging, builders should understand that every item on […]
By Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-June 2022 dropped 5.0 percent to $54,808 as wood commodities continued their capitulation to more normal levels. Nationally, the housing environment has changed over the last month as the higher interest rates are starting to bite into demand, and the forecast of a ¾ […]
by Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-May 2022 fell 1.9 percent to $57,678, and while this is the second straight month of decline, the collapse in pricing many have hoped for, appears not to be materializing. Overall housing and construction demand remain strong with the multi-family and commercial markets cranking […]
By Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-April 2022 fell 10.8 percent to $58,794 which marks the first decline in 2022 and a full retreat to pricing at the start of the year. While the decline is good news for builders and consumers, the markets remain very high in price and […]
By Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-March 2022 hit yet another record, jumping 2.9 percent to $65,937. Additionally, the housing demand equation continues to overwhelm capacity and supply and may get worse as the last big blast of winter for most of the northern tier will probably end this week. […]
The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-February 2022 hit a record high again soaring 7.5 percent to $64,079 as sheathing and lumber pricing continue to firm coupled with overall inflation in other building material sectors. In January’s report, I cautioned the increases in that month did not bode well for the overall supply […]
By Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-January 2022 has hit a record at $59,339 which is 12.4 percent higher than December, and 3.1 percent higher than our previous record-high of June 2021. The one-year comparison to January 2021 looks even worse as it is 29.0 percent higher. This does not […]
