Processing, MLO Jobs; Warehouse, Marketing, eClose, Efficiency Tools; Disaster Updates May 4 2021, 8:20AM Most other countries construct homes out of concrete, stone, steel, or brick, but here in the good ol’ USA we use wood. A renewable resource, right? I mention this because lumber prices, which the government doesn’t control (yet) have risen more than 300% year over year, hit another high on the Chicago Board of Trade yesterday, and contributed to median prices of existing homes rising by 17.2% in March. According to NAHB’s latest estimates, rising lumber prices have added $35,872 to the price of an average new single-family home. Everything has a price (“How much for the little girl?”), but we must think about lumber, land, the permitting costs, and so on when talking about affordable housing. Lenders are also concentrated on lowering the cost to produce a loan, and the audio version of today’s commentary is available here and is sponsored by Origence and features an interview with Michael Farris, VP of Strategic Solutions, discussing the next generation of mortgage technology and what impact a true end-to-end platform can have on the industry.