Seattle Times Highlights NAHB’s Opposition to Lumber Tariffs
The Seattle Times has published an editorial by NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke that lays out a strong case against tariffs on Canadian lumber shipments into the United States that are fueling lumber price volatility and harming housing affordability.
Under the headline, “Tariffs on Canadian Lumber are Driving Up Home Prices,” Fowke lays out a strong case on how the Commerce Department’s recent move to double tariffs on Canadian lumber from 9% to 17.9% has effectively delivered a body blow to American home buyers, renters and businesses that rely on lumber products.
He further cites the reasons for the latest lumber price surge and provides specific actions that policymakers need to take to reduce price volatility and increase supply.
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Sales of newly built single-family homes decreased 0.6% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000, following a downwardly revised August estimate, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales was 5.3% lower than a year earlier.
NAHB analysis takes a deeper look into the median ages of construction workers by state and by trade.
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Nationwide, the share of non-conventional financing for new home sales accounted for 32.4% of the market, according to NAHB analysis of the 2025 Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC) data.
When asked if remodelers started a project involving an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) over the past twelve months, 24% indicated that they were building an addition for use as an ADU and 23% indicated that they were converting an existing space to an ADU, according to NAHB’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI).
Nearly three-quarters of new single-family homes started in 2025 were built on slab foundations, according to NAHB analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC).