Homewyse Improvements and Enhancements - January 2026

Labor Rate and Material Cost Updates

The cost estimating calculators at Homewyse.com now reflect the following changes:

• Labor Rate Change United States Bureau of Labor reports wages for home construction, remodeling and maintenance professionals have remained steady in the past 3 months. The volatility of the labor market continues however there is some evidence that specialty trade labor rates are testing significant price increases in select markets.
• Material Unit Cost Changes For a majority of materials, prices continue to stabilize, with few categories changing by more than 1% in the past 3 months. A notible exception is concrete - which has increased in per cubic yard price by roughly 3% since the prior reporting period. Softwood lumber and some fencing materials have seen declines of less than 2%. It is believed that some vendors have added anticipatory price increases due to their tariff expectations, however the full impact of tariffs will likely not be reflected in material prices for approximately 3-6 months. Lumber prices should be confirmed with suppliers before large lumber orders.