If you’re looking to renovate or buy a new home this year, you’re likely going to pay more.
The National Association of Home Builders is warning that tariffs on lumber and other building materials could cost up to $10,000 more in materials to build a new family home.
The NAHB said those increased costs will likely be passed onto the consumer, and you will likely pay more.
Some local contractors said they’re already seeing an impact here in the Tri-State.
Watch below: Contractors and renovators explain the impact of lumber tariffs locally:
KBC Remodeling specializes in kitchen and bathroom remodels. Ashley Tipton works as a kitchen cabinet designer.
Tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China are already driving up the cost of building materials here locally. For example, some of KBC’s cabinet materials have already gone up.
“Fifteen percent on one of our cabinet lines that come from Canada,” Tipton said
Owner of KBC remodeling Ken Bryan said he isn’t worried and doesn’t feel it’s going to impact business.
“If it goes on for a few months, people are going to get used to it,” Bryan said. “During COVID it went on for years. People understood material prices were rising. Remodeling was still very busy, new homes were busy.”
The NAHB tracks the latest lumber prices. Lumber prices are currently 14.9% higher than they were at this time last year and up 5.9% from a month ago.
“If society gets used to it, they’re gonna pay it,” Bryan said.
The timing of the tariffs is proving to be a challenge for home builders and remodelers, as it’s typically the busiest time of year for home sales.
Ryan Biehl with Biehl Brothers Contracting said he’s bracing for an impact to his business.
“Yeah, I do think that that’s coming,” Biehl said.
Biehl added that business owners are resilient, and despite the uncertainty, they’ll get through this.
“What we do is problem solve, when problems come up, be it a problem in the marketplace, or whatever that might be. That’s really what we’re good at, is solving issues and figuring out how to get it done. We’ll figure it out,” he said.
New tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods are expected to go into effect next month, meaning tariffs on Canadian lumber will increase to 39.5% on April 2.
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