Skip to the highlighted breakdown below if you just want a no-nonsense look at what a material price increase actually costs.
Backstory: a common pressure tactic you should know
Recently I helped a Camas, Washington homeowner avoid a high-pressure sales tactic that used our industry’s price increases to nearly pressure him into signing on the spot. A competitor had assessed his roof and attic, going to exhausting lengths over every little detail until he and his wife were mentally spent. The estimator presented the bid and explained that if they waited several weeks, a price increase would add $5,000 to the project — and if they waited another month, likely another $5,000. At that point the estimator’s $25k tag started to feel like a steal.
The homeowner admitted that without those aggressive numbers he probably would have signed, but the increases seemed so high that he held off a day, asked his neighbors for a referral, and was pointed to Jobin Roofing. He messaged us needing a same-day estimate, which is very hard for our team to arrange — but since we were already starting two of his neighbors’ roofs, I dropped over to look. His sense of urgency was palpable; he was genuinely worried he was about to pay $5,000 more. Where that company exploited fear, our company prides itself on delivering peace of mind. After assessing his roof, I not only came in well below my competitor, I also let him know he could safely wait a while before tackling the project if he wanted to.
He immediately reminded me of that $5,000 material increase — which made me realize how valuable it is to break the numbers down and educate homeowners.
The no-nonsense breakdown I did with the Camas homeowner
The average home’s roof is roughly 2,500 square feet. The material cost for a quality system on that roof runs between $5,000 and $6,000 (see the invoice image below for a 2,600 sq ft roof — a Malarkey system with Vista AR shingles).
Each price increase we receive is between 6% and 10%, but it isn’t a clean sweep across the board — it disproportionately affects asphalt-based products and underlayments, which do make up the bulk of your material cost. Say those represent 80% of the order, or about $4,000 to $4,800 of the average home’s materials. At 8%, that’s roughly a $320 to $384 increase, compounding slightly with each subsequent increase. (It’s more common to see 6–8% than a full 10%.)
So what’s realistic over a year? With about four increases, $1,250 to $1,500 is a good estimate. We’ve had years with more, but four to five per year is what I’d use for planning. In other words, a single “$5,000 increase” claim doesn’t hold up to the math.
I hope this helps homeowners — please feel free to share. If you’d like an honest, no-pressure assessment of your own roof, request a free estimate or call/text 503-523-3449.
Sincerely,
Brendan Jobin
