Experts say tariffs expected to have big impact on the cost of new home construction

The cost of building new homes is expected to jump in response to President Donald Trump's new tariffs put in place on imports from China, Mexico and Canada.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, about one-third of the lumber used in the United States comes from outside the country; of that, about 70% of it comes from Canada.

And lumber isn't the only item expected to get more expensive with these new tariffs in place.

President Donald Trump is granting a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers, amid fears that the trade war could harm U.S. manufacturers.

"Whether it's drywall from Mexico, lumber from Canada, or HVAC units and electronics from China, we are going to see every facet of home construction impacted by these (tariffs)," said Jim Tobin, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders.

"And that's only going to be a cumulative effect of raising the cost of new homes in this country."

Lumber suppliers in Southern California say the market for softwood, which is the kind of wood used to construct homes, is cool right now; the number of new homes under construction is already down because of inflation and high-interest rates.

But Matt Oubrey, who works in sales at Bear Forest Products in Riverside, says the price of a new home could rise if the tariffs remain in place for an extended period of time.

"You could see $10,000 to $15,000 added on to the framing cost of the house, because there's so many items we do buy from Canada," said Oubrey. "I do get the reason behind (the tariffs), to increase production in the United States; which would be great.

"But in the short term it will be tough."