Read the full article by Ken Magri at Sacramento News & Review
There is already a crisis of available and affordable housing in America. But now, political uncertainty and economic volatility could make home buying even less attainable.
For the last two decades, higher housing prices have overrun workers’ wage increases that might have helped offset rising prices of American homes, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The median price for a home is now $459,000. But 76 million households cannot even afford a $300,000 home, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). That represents 57% of Americans. In California, the median price for a home is $856,830, and only 17% of households can afford that amount, according to the group Californians for Homeownership.
Now, the proposed Trump tariffs on building materials are creating financial volatility that could send housing prices up significantly. Since his announcement of widespread tariffs on April 2, the additional costs imposed on imported lumber, gypsum, aluminum, electronics and other related materials delayed the nation’s housing starts in April, according to NAHB.
“The decline in single-family housing starts in April mirrors builder sentiment, as elevated interest rates, uncertainty on the tariff front and rising construction costs are exacerbating housing affordability challenges,” said Buddy Hughes, a homebuilder who chairs the NAHB, in a press release.