Homebuilders

The rate of new home sales picked up by 14% from the month prior, data provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows.

Even with various tariff pauses and exemptions, suppliers are raising prices due to ongoing policy uncertainty, and consumers also are altering their behavior.

US homebuilder confidence barely rose this month on a pickup in current sales, though demand expectations stumbled to a more than one-year low and prices of construction materials are climbing on the heels of higher tariffs. 

Lumber retains protections for now, but construction stocks still fell, and while the initial market reaction lowered rates, there could later be a reversal.

Homebuyers would be able to take advantage of streamlined finance options, folding energy infrastructure costs with their mortgages, the companies said.

Steel, aluminum, and automobiles already subject to Trump's duties will not face reciprocal tariffs. Lumber products expected to soon be hit with a tariff investigation will also be exempt.

The so-called spec home, a spin on the American dream home with standardized color schemes and toilet fixtures, is falling out of favor with some US builders.

New residential construction increased 11.2% to an annualized rate of 1.5 million in February, according to government data released Tuesday.

An ex-Biden administration official suggested potential challenges in identifying lands that have access to both employment opportunities and infrastructure.

Measures of current sales of single-family homes and prospective-buyer traffic, dropped to their lowest levels since the end of 2023.