Home builders say Trump's tariff on lumber imports could raise price of newly built homes

There are concerns that President Trump's new tariff on Canadian lumber imports could jack up the prices of newly built homes.

The president says subsidized Canadian lumber has hurt the industry here.

The average newly built home in Seattle is $845,000.

The National Association of Home Builders says with a tariff on Canadian lumber, house prices could jump by 6.5 percent, raising the cost of a new home to $900,000.

Trump has said U.S. lumber producers are driven out of business and suffer when the Canadian government subsidizes its lumber industry.

The Commerce Department says those subsidies Canadian producers are paying is anywhere from 3 to 24 percent.

Canadian imports, valued at $5.7 billion, make up about 30 percent of all softwood lumber used in U.S. housing construction.

But there are concerns the tariffs could not only spark a trade war, but home builders say eventually, consumers will pay for that tariff in the end.

Groups supporting the policy say the price increase wouldn't be as much as home builders are claiming it would be, and say the interest in U.S. lumber would mean more Americans working those jobs.

Cox Media Group