As home prices continue to rise, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) is blaming tariffs for making things worse.
President Donald Trump (R) has imposed tariffs on steel, aluminum, lumber, and other materials – all of which are needed for construction.
DeLauro said it’s made home building more expensive.
“Sixty percent of home builders report that suppliers have announced increased prices for supplies in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs,” DeLauro said. “And the National Association of Home Builders has estimated that tariffs on inputs like lumber and steel add $10,900 for every new home.”
According to DeLauro, nationwide, single-family home construction starts in April 2025 were down 12% compared to April 2024.
Though the Supreme Court recently ruled that Trump’s tariffs were unconstitutional, the unpredictability still has costs in flux. That’s according to Greg Ugalde, president of the Home Builders Association of the Connecticut River Region.
“The problem is with the court that the court cases and everything else, it's hard for them to pin down on any given day,” Ugalde said. “It can change. So we're doing our best, but all we know is that we have to cushion the prices for anybody buying a home.”
Ugalde and DeLauro were at a newly constructed townhouse community in West Haven on Monday.
DeLauro has introduced legislation to ban tariff-driven price gouging by big corporations. It’s unlikely to get a vote in the Republican controlled Congress.
And, she admits that the court decision won’t end the President’s attempts to impose higher taxes on other countries.
“The President has made clear that he will continue to try every possible avenue for maintaining and even increasing tariffs in the future, including by claiming he will now implement a ‘global minimum tariff,’ DeLauro said. “These are more fights that lie ahead in the courts and in Congress.”
