President Donald Trump recently announced his plan to implement tariffs on steel and aluminum. Such tariffs could raise construction costs for builders, and ultimately cause price increases for homebuyers.
"Given that home builders are already grappling with 20 percent tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber and that the price of lumber and other key building materials are near record highs, this announcement by the president could not have come at a worse time," Randy Noel, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement, per Business Insider.
But there's still no clarity on the extent of the tariffs, including which countries, if any, would be exempt, for example. "So far it's still a lot of talk," said Jae Yoon, the chief investment officer at New York Life Investments, although he acknowledged that things could get more serious. Even if the effect on housing is minimal, there are several other pressures facing homebuilders. They've long cited rising land and labor costs as barriers to new construction.
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