Lumber soars 13% as the housing market shows signs of a rebound for the first time in a year

• Lumber futures soared 13% on Friday as the housing market finally shows some signs of life.
• Pending home sales unexpectedly jumped 2.5% in December, its largest growth since October 2021.
• The average 30-year mortgage rate has steadily trended lower to 6% from a peak of 7% last year.

Lumber prices soared as much as 13% on Friday as the housing market shows signs of life for the first time in over a year.

Lumber futures jumped to $524 per thousand board feet, its highest level since mid-October. The essential building commodity is up 21% since encouraging housing market data was released earlier this week, and is up 37% year-to-date.