Its the Jimmy Carter MISERY INDEX all over again!
First, lumber has soared 23.77%.
Lumber has been getting a fair amount of press lately because it was one of the largest increases in 2012 on the CME. Demand is up at many of many customers 50% month to month over last year. There are a lot of apts being built and sigle family building is coming back after 5 years of doing nothing. Housing Starts will steadily climb for the next several years to make up for what has not been built since 2008.
Quite a while back, associates of big lumber mills shut down many small mills by attending local government meetings around the country and doing back room deals. Now, the big mills radically cut production, when demand goes down—much like other big companies in this so-called economy. They outlaw competition, then choke supply. It’s a global market with global bosses.
Much smaller houses, here we come (also for property tax and energy cost reasons).
“Boomerang Foreclosures” Are Back As Bernanke’s Second Housing Bubble Begins To Pop
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