In some parts of the country, it’s gotten twice as expensive to frame a house just over the course of the last year due to labor shortages. An Atlanta-based builder struggling to find quality framers, for instance, said that it now costs $18,000 to frame a 3,000-square foot home, up from $9,750 late last year.
Bloomberg reports that immigration policies and foreign trade agreements enacted by President Trump have caused home building costs to skyrocket.
Builders across the nation are struggling to find good framers, many of whom were born in Mexico and do not speak much English. Under Trump, Bloomberg reports, arrests of noncriminal undocumented workers has increased 145 percent.
Also, new tariffs on Canadian lumber have added $1,701 to the price of the average single-family home. The lack of skilled workers and a shortage of material may cause home building to slow and inventory to deplete.
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