There is a warning for the housing market as President Donald Trump's tariffs could have an impact on an already sluggish market in Florida.
Tariffs could have the biggest price impacts on new home sales in particular.
Newly imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China have the potential to shake up the housing market.
In fact, the average home on the market is taking three months or more to sell. Both builders and buyers are being warned they could soon feel the pinch.
Mike Ruggles in Cape Coral is among those who have had his home on the market for a little longer than he anticipated.
“We're pushing 40 to 50 days. I figured it would be sluggish and bumps in the road,” Ruggles told Gulf Coast News late last month.
In Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties there are well over 30,000 homes on the market.
Jeff Tumbarello is a broker with Steelbridge Realty and said the housing market is declining.
“You have to just call it that,” he said.
Now, there's concern the tariffs could make things worse.
Doug Nellans is an insurance agent at The Insurancenter in Fort Myers and fears the tariffs only serve to exacerbate the fragile housing situation.
“As a result, we have seen fewer people come in asking for homeowners insurance for a new property they're purchasing in Florida,” Nellans revealed.
New construction relies heavily on imported lumber and steel, most impacting new homes.
Nellans warns tariffs could even drive up home insurance rates.
“Home insurance companies are going to have to factor that cost of construction and repairs into their pricing model,” Nellans stated.
Realtor Joe Pavich Jr. warns new construction is most at risk.
“That would make the prices go up on new construction, for sure. I think that might push people more toward re-sales,” Pavich explained.
He predicted more people could be forced to buy already built homes that are currently taking longer to sell.
“Homes are sitting longer because people have expected them to sell like that,” Pavich said as he snapped his fingers.
Pointing out many homeowners will be forced to face market reality.
“I think a lot of homes out there are overpriced still. It's not the homes, it's the sellers of those properties,” Pavich explained.
And manufactured homes are taking even longer to sell right now as nearly a year’s supply is currently on the market and many of those homes and others are currently overpriced.
“Just a boots-on-the-ground guess, not statistic-wise, but probably 20% of the homes are still just priced too high,” Pavich noted.
Both buyers and sellers wait to see what happens next in the volatile market.