Home prices are soaring, pushed higher by a combination of record-low mortgage rates, strong demand from buyers and a lingering lack of new construction.
For 2021, add another wrinkle: Lumber prices have jumped to new highs. Lumber costs soared more than 30 percent this year, and theyâve nearly tripled since last springâs deep downturn in economic activity.
The National Association of Home Builders says skyrocketing lumber prices are tacking thousands of dollars onto the cost of a new home, an unwelcome increase for buyers already struggling to find homes they can afford. The trade group has lobbied President Joe Biden and Congress to end tariffs on Canadian wood sent to the United States.
Operator
Good afternoon, and welcome to the Beazer Homes Earnings Conference Call for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2021. Today s call is being recorded and a replay will be available on the company s website later today. In addition, PowerPoint slides intended to accompany this call are available in the Investor Relations section of the company s website at www.beazer.com. Now, I ll turn over the conference call to David Goldberg, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Thank you.
David Goldberg
Vice President and Treasurer
Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to the Beazer Homes conference call, discussing our results for the second quarter of fiscal 2021. Before we begin, you should be aware that during this call we will be making forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors described in our SEC filings, which may cause actual results to differ materially from our projections. Any forward-looking stat
Operator
Good day, and welcome to the M/I Homes First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the conference over to Phil Creek. Please go ahead.
Phillip G. Creek
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Thank you for joining us today. On the call is Bob Schottenstein, our CEO and President; Tom Mason, EVP; Derek Klutch, President of our Mortgage Company; Ann Marie Hunker, VP, Corporate Controller; and Kevin Hake, Senior VP. First, to address Regulation Fair Disclosure, we encourage you to ask any questions regarding issues that you consider material during this call, because we are prohibited from discussing significant nonpublic items with you directly.