The good:
Homes are flying off fast this spring in the ‘strongest seller’s market ever’
Spring homebuyers are pounding the pavement at a furious pace, but the pickings are getting ever slimmer.
Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/104422257
The bad: Trump threatens 20% tariff on lumbar from Canada - would lead to higher home prices.
The Ugly: Home stocks down while the market is up strong.
The bad: Trump threatens 20% tariff on lumbar from Canada
Dang! I was hoping for a lumbar transplant donor from up there. Or not. Have a Canadian friend lives nearby and he worked on oil rigs and has bad lumbar region. And, can’t get a good one here. 13 year-old kids unloading trucks, catching bags of cement on the head makes for low quality lumbars.
:0 
KC who needs to research lumber to see why we would want to start a peeing contest with our northern cousins.
KC who needs to research lumber to see why we would want to start a peeing contest with our northern cousins.
Especially considering that NAFTA is still in effect …
I was watching a show the night before this was announced and a Canadian was talking about the dairy protections Canada has. Apparently now and when she was a kid they put a high tariff on dairy. She said her family would go across the border to the US and sneak back gallons of milk hiddent in cloths and car conmpartments. She also joked about the fact that a lot of milk came in bags, which made it all but impossible to pour.
So in addition to milk, there is a lumber problem. We had an agreement that expired a couple years ago and we have not renegotiated yet. The complaint is that it is subsidized because all the lumber comes from Government land so nobody has to pay for the land, they just get to harvest it.
P.
It’s worth noting that the lumber issue is a temporary, common dispute caused by American politicians acting in bad faith. Essentially, USA adds tariffs to softwood lumber, Canada takes USA to trade court, and the tariffs get thrown out. It’s happened many times (5? 6?). It’s certainly not limited to Trump, but the tariffs simply have a higher profile because of his rhetoric.
So, expect the impact on LGIH to be higher lumber prices for a couple years, followed by a few no tariff years when it gets thrown out of court again, and then a couple higher years again as politicians illegally reinstate the tariffs to cater to forestry industry lobbyists. The circle of life…
This lumber tax on Canada is more a political move to show his base that he is serious about jobs in America. The administration is going for low hanging fruit, which still garner big headlines, just turn on the news and it’s a lead story still this morning.
Chris