If you're not building a house right now you may not have notices how expensive lumber is. It is widely reported that a lumber shortage is looming especially pressure-treated pine and softwood framing lumber used in framing new home construction. Several factors are contributing to the shortage including lockdown orders which began in 2020, a spike in new home construction, and the devastating wildfires that ravished the western states last year. This perfect storm has caused the cost of softwood lumber to rise 112% since a year ago, according to CapitolPress, and in some cases, an increase of 180% as reported by Fortune.