Steep declines in multifamily housing starts contributed to a disappointing finish for the 2023 Canadian housing market. According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, November housing starts for all areas declined by 22% from last month. Starts were logged at an annualized rate of 212,624 units, down from 272,264 in October, a 19% drop […]

Softwood lumber traders worldwide begin 2024 with a glimmer of hope that a post-pandemic new normal might finally emerge after several years of upheaval. Plateauing interest rates and encouraging signs in the U.S. housing market in late 2023 provided a reason for guarded optimism in North America. U.S. and Canadian exports to China increased last […]

Another year is behind us, with no shortage of discussion topics when reflecting on the US residential construction and wood products markets in 2023. In many ways, the year played out how our team expected as we laid out in last year’s “Predictions” piece. Here is how our predictions played out throughout 2023: Want to […]

The US housing market has had an uneven go of it in 2023, as mortgage rates rose dramatically, soaring past 7.0% in August

Wood products sales are linked heavily to residential construction, and builders, with a keen awareness of the housing market, have not shown much confidence in recent months

Multifamily housing starts show some sign of life in late 2023, but the overall picture shows a different trend when compared to single-family

Despite slower population growth and lower household formation rates, there remains a shortfall in the housing market, particularly for starter homes in North America

Despite consistently high 30-year mortgage rates, builder confidence has grown through the year