Builders warn that Trump tariffs will drive up housing prices on both sides of border

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The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) is warning that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration will lead to price hikes for building materials and raise the price of a new home in both the U.S. and Canada.

“The residential construction industry on both sides of the border is already in dire straits due to a perfect storm of issues and this completely unwarranted and reckless act will only cause more economic hardship for builders on both sides of the border. The U.S. National Association of Home Builders shares our view that tariffs and affordability are bad on both sides of the border,” said RESCON president, Richard Lyall.

“Tariffs will make it more costly for building materials and, in the end, the costs of these unnecessary levies will be passed on to consumers. This will lead to a further slowdown in residential construction activity and exacerbate our already dire housing affordability crisis.

“Affordability is already a serious challenge for consumers on both sides of the border. It will drive inflation and costs higher right across the board which oddly contradicts the U.S. president’s stated objective of lowering prices and inflation. The uncertainty of tariffs slowed sales and rental construction on both sides of the border. Tariffs will drive this lower to no purpose.”

The Residential Construction Council of Ontario says the economic uncertainty created by tariffs will almost certainly lead to a slowdown in new housing construction in both the U.S. and Canada as supply chains are intertwined.