FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – For those looking at quotes to add a deck or build a house, the prices are way higher than in years past. 

Materials have been in short supply. Particularly lumber, but is that the whole story?

If not, it’s definitely a huge part of it. Over the past four months lumber has nearly tripled in price. 

Stacks of lumber sit at Home Lumber in New Haven.

When everything is taken into account, the National Association of Homebuilders has stated that the cost of an average new single-family home has risen by more than $18,600 — more money than any COVID-19 wearied American can shake a stick at.

So what else is there to look at? 

Enter Kyle Gresham who is a Representative for the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC). Even though Gresham has felt the lumber shortage in his day-to-day work, he looks at another shortage… skilled labor.

Although from his point of view it’s not quite a shortage, but rather a path with abundant opportunity for those with the desire to step up to the plate. 

Gresham remarked, “Some people want to say it’s a shortage, we say it’s an opportunity for a lot of folks to get out there, get in the trades and start a career.”

Gresham believes that every skilled trade, from plumbers to electricians, are hungry for new applicants — statement that should be sweet music to the ears of those looking for jobs.