Material costs could push new-home prices 5% higher

The White House's move to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum come on top of a nationwide labor shortage and previous tariffs levied on Canadian lumber. As a result, the combination is ramping up costs for South Florida home builders – and homebuyers and renters may eventually feel the effect as well.

Sergio Pino, founder of the Century Homebuilders Group, said his suppliers anticipate that the cost of materials will increase by 5 percent in the coming months. His subcontractors are already upping price estimates on drywall installation – a key element in local homes and rentals – as the costs for steel partitions rise.

"It's definitely going to hurt the industry," says Pino, whose firm has 200 condos and single-family homes under construction in South Florida. "I know our homes are going up $20,000 to $30,000."

For many companies, especially bigger ones, current projects aren't affected, but those price guarantees don't apply to future projects.

Meanwhile, the materials-price hikes come amid South Florida's construction labor shortage, part of a national trend that is increasing wages. When combined with the greater material costs in steel and lumber, the price of a single-family home has jumped $9,000 in a year, according to Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Homebuilders.

In Miami, that means higher home prices in a market already unaffordable to many.

Miami Herald - Jackson, Dylan