Just over a month after the U.S. administration imposed sweeping tariffs on its trading partners, David Truong, manager of DuiDui Construction in Los Angeles, California, is already struggling with rising costs.
"The price of almost all building materials has been rising steadily in recent months," Truong said in an interview with Xinhua. "Building new houses is getting more expensive every day."
Truong offered a first-hand look at a construction site in Temple City, Los Angeles County, where the impacts of the tariffs are evident. A faucet, for example, once cost about $160, but now sells for at least $200. A steel-framed window that used to cost slightly more than $300 now sells for more than $370.
Some of the most significant increases were in lighting costs. "An LED recessed light that used to sell for $12 to $15 now costs around $30," He said. "This house needs more than 20 of them, so we're going to pay $300 to $400 just for the lighting."
According to April data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), one of the nation's largest trade associations, recent tariff increases are raising the cost of building a new home in the United States by nearly $11,000.
"The disruptions caused by tariffs make it difficult for builders to accurately price homes and make critical business decisions," said in a press release in April Robert Dietzthe NAHB's chief economist.
Construction input prices have now risen at an annualized rate of 9.7 % through the first quarter of 2025, said Anirban Basu, chief economist for the Associated Builders and Contractors, the national trade association for the construction industry in the United States.
"This rate of escalation in input prices, coupled with growing uncertainty, will cause projects to be delayed and cancelled if they take longer to complete," Basu said in a press release.
Rising costs have squeezed Truong's profit margins and forced him to increase his price quotes. In Temple City, his company's cost of building new homes increased from $220 to $250 per square foot (0.093 square meters). In more complex locations in some other cities, the price can climb to $280 per square foot (0.093 square meters).
Truong's company is not alone in feeling this burden. Many contractors are facing similar problems, with soaring costs for materials such as wire, PVC pipe and enclosures. Many of them therefore have no choice but to renegotiate contracts with customers to share the financial burden.
Rising costs aren't the only concern for Truong and other builders. The biggest concern, he said, is a possible shortage of materials. "Our biggest concern is that some materials may soon be unavailable, no matter how much we are willing to pay."
Xinhua/gnews.cz - cik
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