Letter to Share with Consumers on Lumber, Materials Supply
By Phil Crone, Executive Officer
We understand that the unprecedented challenges with availability and pricing of lumber and other critical materials has created significant challenges for your business and difficult conversations with current and prospective home buyers. In an effort to help facilitate those conversations and explain what is occurring in the market, I have drafted a letter that you can share with consumers. The text of that letter is also included below for you to borrow from as you wish.
We are working with officials at the state and local level and our media contacts to address this issue. Here are examples of recent stories done in print and television media.
Despite these efforts, progress will not occur quickly unless the Biden Administration and Congress aggressively engage on this issue as the NAHB, TAB and the Dallas BA have repeatedly asked them to. We unfortunately expect these challenges to continue for at least the majority of this year as the economy reopens more slowly in other regions.
We will continue to keep you informed and up to date on progress with this and the other numerous issues we are following.
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Dear Dallas BA Builder Members,
Housing affordability has been a critical issue across the country for years, as factors such as a shortage of lots and labor have led to a limited supply. As lumber and other material prices reach all-time highs amid a supply shortage, this crisis only gets worse. Unfortunately, I continue to receive new reports each week of critical materials on allocation or that are completely unavailable.
Please know that the Dallas Builders Association, along with the Texas Association of Builders and National Association of Home Builders, is doing everything in its power to address this issue. This includes pleading with Congress and the Biden Administration to investigate the cause of these issues and take any legal action necessary to stabilize these critical supply chains.
We recognize that you are doing everything possible to avoid pricing consumers out of homes while still maintaining competitive prices necessary to operate your businesses. Over the next several months, we strongly encourage you to inform your customers that 1) supply chain volatility will continue until, at least, the third quarter of this year; and 2) that these issues will likely have a negative impact on prices and may require substitutions for certain materials as permitted by code requirements.
Additionally, you should advise your customers of any contractual escalation clauses. These are common in fixed-price contracts, including those promulgated by our association, that protect consumers from unconscionable situations.
As always, please keep us apprised of what you are seeing in the market and especially new challenges. We will do the same as we make progress with the regulators and policy makers who can preserve your ability to provide the wealth-creating opportunity of homeownership.
Sincerely,
Phil Crone
Executive Officer