At Prince & Sons, we never want to get too political, but we think it’s always important to alert our current and potential clients about some of the market changes that could affect things like project costs. With the recent boom in the Triangle housing market, more of our clients are electing to stay put and consider options like additions and other home renovations as opposed to having to brave the local market. One thing that we’ve noticed in talking with tradespeople and vendors is that the recent tariff announcements will have an impact on construction costs.
While we’re big proponents of US based manufacturing and keeping jobs local, the reality is that many and most construction materials are made overseas. China is a big exporter of building materials, which is why the new Chinese tariffs could significantly affect the home construction market. A recent CNBC article points out that the latest Chinese tariffs are to affect roughly $10 billion of products made in China that are exclusive to the construction industry.
This new tariff will start as a 10% tariff, but there are reports that the tariff could rise to as high as 25% by year’s end. To show you a real world example of these new tariffs in action, we were recently speaking with one of our flooring vendors who mentioned that one of the brands of vinyl plank flooring products that we use from time to time will be going up in price by 10%. Also, our quartz supplier said their product cost is changing so quickly that we can’t depend on our standard pricing and should consider quotes as a same day price. At Prince & Sons, we anticipate this same price increase could also affect other product lines including cabinets and other materials.
Anyone looking to complete a home renovation project should be aware of the high demand for construction right now. This demand is forcing general contractors to schedule work out months in advance. The trouble is that material costs could change dramatically between the time when a contract is signed and when work begins. For this reason it’s critical that you’re on the same page with your general contractor to understand how these price changes could affect your overall budget.
If you’re interested in learning more about what a home renovation project might cost, feel free to reach out to the team at Prince & Sons today. We’ll work with you to come up with a realistic budget based on your needs that has contingencies in place related to rising material costs. We can be reached by phone at 919-383-0888 or through our online contact form. We look forward to hearing from you soon.