White House Delays Latest Tariff Increases on Timber, Kitchen Cabinets, and More Home Essentials 

With the new year came a new move from the Trump administration concerning tariffs that will have a direct impact on the home building and renovation industry. 

President Donald Trump and the White House announced Dec. 31 that the administration is holding off tariff increases on timber, furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities.

“The United States continues to engage in productive negotiations with trade partners to address trade reciprocity and national security concerns with respect to imports of wood products,” stated the White House fact sheet.

According to the White House, a Section 232 investigation by the Commerce Department concluded that current levels of imported wood products pose a potential national security risk. The administration cited concerns that heavy reliance on foreign timber and lumber could undermine U.S. defense readiness, the construction sector, and broader economic stability. However, while the investigation supports higher tariffs, the president is delaying any increase to allow additional negotiations with trading partners to continue.

In addition, higher tariff rates on goods such as kitchen cabinets and vanities that were set to take effect Jan. 1 will now be delayed for another year. The current 25% tariff on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities, as imposed under the Sept. 25, 2025 Proclamation, will remain in effect, but they were meant to rise to 30% for wooden furniture and 50% for kitchen cabinets and vanities.

What this means for homebuilding in 2026

For the better part of 2025, homebuilders, contractors, and homeowners looking to renovate have seen the impact of tariffs first hand. While a pause on further increases helps matters, prices are still higher than anyone would like them to be. 

 "For most goods, the cost is passed on to the end users, meaning consumers," according to the National Association of Home Builders. "So tariffs on building materials and home appliances raise the cost of housing, and consumers end up paying for the tariffs in the form of higher home prices and goods."

When the tariffs on kitchen cabinets and vanities were enacted in September, National Association of Home Builders Chairman Buddy Hughes warned of the implications of the change. 

“These new tariffs will create additional headwinds for an already challenged housing market by further raising construction and renovation costs,” he said. 

Recent analysis by the Center for American Progress estimates that tariff-induced higher building costs will lead to 450,000 fewer homes being built over the next five years, exacerbating the housing supply shortage.

Meanwhile, a 2025 analysis from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center suggests that currently active and announced tariffs will add roughly $30 billion to the annual cost of investment in residential structures in 2027, with about 90 percent of that cost—roughly $27 billion—affecting the cost of constructing new homes and apartments.

At current homebuilding rates, an extra $27 billion in tariffs adds $17,500 in costs per new home, further worsening housing affordability.

What this means for homebuying in 2026

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that homebuyers may have some more options going into the new year to buy a newly built home at a competitive price. 

As Realtor.com® laid out in their 2026 housing forecast, builders have responded to the increased tariffs by pulling back on permitting and starting new projects at the same time they push to sell completed inventory. They've done this by offering incentives to buyers like mortgage rate buydowns and cash at closing. 

Therefore, new construction has emerged as an affordable alternative to resale homes, with the price per square foot of new builds actually falling below that of existing homes.