Senator Al Franken is applauding import duties that President Trump has put on imports of softwood lumber from Canada, calling it a major victory for Minnesota workers. But the Builders Association of Minnesota predicts new home prices will go up. Spokeswoman Remi Stone says while that probably won’t *immediately* reduce demand for new homes, “we always have to remember that, when new homes become more expensive, there’s a drag upward of existing homes [prices] and eventually what you do is you end up pricing people out of the marketplace.”
Stone says there’s so much pent-up demand in the home market that it might take a while. “Consumers are already looking to purchase homes,” she says, “and so it’s really hard to tease out whether right now… the increase in softwood lumber will immediately temper people’s purchasing decisions.” But Stone says any upward pressure on new home prices has a detrimental effect on the entire housing market.
Much more info in the interview: