According to Madison’s Lumber Price Index, as of Sept. 25, 2026, framing lumber prices decreased to $506.76 per 1,000 board feet, down from the previous week. This price was 1.8% week over week, down 2.8% month over month, but up 4.5% year over year.
Softwood lumber prices have been volatile in recent years due to increased demand, rising tariffs, supply-chain bottlenecks and insufficient domestic production.
To address the high lumber prices, the National Association of Home Builders has advocated for negotiating a long-term deal with Canada to reduce tariffs and boost imported lumber and to increase domestic production by seeking higher targets for timber sales from publicly-owned lands and opening up additional federal forest lands for logging.
As we know, the price of framing lumber directly impacts the price of residential construction. Products such as plywood, OSB, particleboard, fiberboard, shakes and shingles make up a considerable portion of the total materials and cost of a new home. Data from the Home Innovation Research Labs show that the average new single-family home uses more than 2,200 square feet of softwood plywood, as well as more than 6,800 of OSB and roughly 15,000 board feet of framing lumber.
