Energy Price Shock Is Hitting Residential Construction Costs Hard

NAHB’s Eye on Housing reports that energy input prices for residential construction climbed in March at the fastest rate since June 2020, driven by the Iran supply chain disruption. Building material prices excluding energy rose for the eleventh consecutive month. Trade service price growth slowed, and transportation and warehousing costs also moved. The piece is aimed at homebuilders and residential market watchers tracking cost pressure across input categories.

Eleven straight months of non-energy material price increases is the number that should land. That’s not a spike, that’s a floor shift. GCs pricing residential work right now are stacking new bids on top of sub proposals that were built before this month’s energy move cleared. The subs who priced delivery-heavy scopes, framing packages, concrete, site utilities, have already absorbed the last round. Whether they’ve repriced for this one is a separate question, and most haven’t sent a revised number unless you asked. If you didn’t ask, you’re carrying the exposure. Comms Center’s bid tracking gives estimators a clear record of when sub proposals came in relative to major market moves, so you can flag which numbers need a fresh confirmation before they go into a GMP. Learn more at commscenter.com.

Read the full story at NAHB Eye on Housing.