"Almost every week, we are receiving price increases from manufacturers," said Sam Afolayan, regional manager for Advantage Homes in San Marcos.

He added that many of those notices of price increases cite Hurricane Katrina as the cause for the higher prices.

The most recent Producer Price Index report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms significant price increases in building material.

In the month of September, the cost of plywood alone increased by 14.4 percent, according to the bureau's recently issued third-quarter report, called the Producer Price Index.

Between July 1 and Sept. 30, the cost of all building material jumped by 3.7 percent, triple the overall 1.2 increase in prices for consumer goods in the month of September ---- a 25-year record for that month. Wholesale prices, meanwhile, increased by 1.9 percent in the month of September, their largest increase in that month in the last 15 years.

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A typical 2,200-square-foot manufactured home installed on a buyer's lot that cost as little as $85,000 to $95,000 in August now could run as much as $95,000 to $105,000, Feeney said.

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