Writing in JLC‘s sister publication, Builder, John McManus describes what the added risks imposed by tariffs and a pending trade war will mean for home builders. By nature, builders and new-home developers are risk takers. But the volatility imposed by a trade war will force builders to limit undue risks, which will likely hamper, and maybe begin to reverse, any gains made in the housing recovery.
Living with this risk, even glorying in it, is what many of the human beings attracted to home building and development do, because, for them–for many of you–the reward outweighs the risk.
Risk, which is the potential exposure to loss of investments of time, money, and talent, has been intensifying of late, in part due to uncertainties rancorous global trade disputes have introduced to the process by which builders procure materials and products used to make new houses.