Residential inputs jump 3.4%
The price index for inputs to new residential construction rose 3.4% year‑over‑year, driven largely by materials like wire and conduit and upward wage pressure. That squeeze makes it harder to protect margins without revising material markups and overhead allocations. (probuilder.com)
BLS data via the St. Louis Fed show the Producer Price Index for inputs to new residential construction at 156.369 in February 2026, a 3.4% year‑over‑year increase. (fred.stlouisfed.org) Breakouts show the goods component of residential inputs up roughly 3.0% year‑over‑year while service inputs climbed about 4.2% year‑over‑year, and the overall inputs index rose 0.7% in February. (eyeonhousing.org) Trade groups point to electrical commodities as major drivers: the Associated Builders and Contractors reported copper wire and cable jumped more than 22% year‑over‑year and prices for primary nonferrous metals were up nearly 62% in late 2025. (abc.org) Private price trackers and RSMeans data put copper electric wire around $392–$395 per thousand linear feet (MLF) entering 2026, showing roughly 7–9% year‑over‑year gains on key electrical items. (libertycopper.net) The trade‑services component (where subcontractor margins and labor markups sit) was up about 5.8% year‑over‑year, while industry surveys report roughly 92% of firms having difficulty finding qualified workers and overall construction average hourly wages up about 3.7% year‑over‑year. (eyeonhousing.org) NAHB’s cost study shows builders allocate about 64.4% of a typical new‑home sales price to construction costs and report average builder profit near 11%, limiting the room to absorb ongoing material and labor inflation through existing margin structures. (nahb.org)
