As President Donald Trump announces tariffs against Canada, the London St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LStar), are beginning to ready themselves for the effects it will have with housing.
“I think that there’s some unsteadiness right now with what’s going on. Some people are concerned about their jobs, right?” Says Chair for LStar, Dale Marsh. “Some people are just sitting on their wallets at the moment and seeing how this pans out, whether it is, you know, a week or two or a few months or maybe it’s long term.”
“It’s hard to tell because Trump’s target seems to be moving every day as to what he’s requesting.”
Wellington Road (Credit: Flickr)
Just yesterday, Trump announced that he will take full effect of the 25 percent foreign tax on Canada as of midnight yesterday.
“There is some nervousness out there with buyers in the market because the Bank of Canada has been dropping interest rates as well. They’ve done six interest rate drops in a row including in late January to try to stimulate the home buying market which has helped a little bit.”
Marsh also discussed what it will mean specifically for the housing market if the tariffs are continued into the year.
“There’s a chance that it will have increased construction costs on steel and lumber. So new home builds could slow down. There could be reduced housing supply because of higher home prices, delayed projects for new builds as well, and some economic uncertainty as well with buyers who aren’t sure which way prices in the market are going to go in the near future.”
As the tariffs going through are not good, Marsh talks about a report he received that might help out the housing market for the better.
“The provincial body, the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), has released a few reports about a month ago with recommendations, some of those being recommending that they start manufacturing homes in factories. So off-site manufacturing and then ship them to the lot and assemble them there. There are studies that have shown that this can significantly increase the pace at which homes are being built as well as reduce the costs.”
Sold Sign (Credit: therecord.com)
“I think that would help stimulate the home building market. Whether that comes into effect, time will tell, but I think they’re all four of the major parties advocating for that to happen. I think that’s a step in the right direction.”
As LStar keeps planning their next move, Marsh reassures people about their objective of helping the process of home buying.
“Our organization will continue lobbying and talking with them (OREA), as well as putting our thoughts there,as we listen to homebuyers and sellers and tenants in the public to see what their needs and wants are.”
The LStar continues to plan ahead of the tariffs, and make sure that they can provide the best kind of support for home buyers.
