By Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-January may have cemented a bottom in the market for the year as wood commodity prices have now capitulated prior to pre-pandemic levels and the first week of January has been littered with announcements of mill closures and curtailments. The Index since mid-December dropped […]
By Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-November 2022 continued its decline as the holiday season, coupled with emerging winter weather and a national softening housing market, pressed wood commodity prices downward. The Index dropped 2.2 percent to $48,814 since last month, and wood commodity markets are shadowing numbers at pre-pandemic […]
By Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-November 2022 declined 2.6 percent as commodity markets, even with another Florida hurricane, appeared to stabilize and flatten out. Unlike the last year or so, retreats in other building material areas outweighed the volatility of commodities. It appears the Federal Reserve is tightening, and […]
By Don Magruder The RoMac Whole House Commodity Index (Index) for mid-October 2022 declined 4.0 percent to $51,240, which on the face is good news for builders and new homebuyers, but if you look inside the numbers there are real concerns. Foremost, the Index is 10.4 percent above last year’s October’s Index price, and that […]
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 […]
