The Trump administration has a new round of tariffs pending on billions of dollars worth of imported goods from China, which may put an additional $1 billion tax on housing.
Compounding the earlier trade penalties on imported Chinese goods, the total tax increase for the residential construction industry stands at roughly $2.5 billion, according to NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz, and commercial builders are being affected as well. On top of that, rising cost of labor, land, and the continued rise of interest rates are all combining into higher prices all around for housing, The Dallas Morning News reports.
Builders don't usually focus on international trade. They are busy hunting land to construct new housing and funds to finance office buildings, apartments and the like. But a ballooning trade war between the U.S. and big exporters in China and Canada is starting to hammer the nation's construction industry. Huge tariffs on Canadian lumber have already added an estimated $9,000 to the cost of a typical U.S. single-family home, according to the National Association of Home Builders.