Fight President Biden’s New Tariffs on Lumber On November 24th, the US Commerce Department DOUBLED the tariffs on imports of softwood lumber from Canada. This comes at a time when lumber prices are still well-above pre-pandemic prices, meaning this ill-advised decision by the Biden Administration to double tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber will only make matters worse for your businesses and customers. We need your help to get Congress involved. Demand that they pressure President Biden to negotiate an updated softwood lumber agreement with Canada and increase US lumber production by harvesting more timber from US forest lands. These doubled tariffs will make already-high inflation worse, sending lumber prices soaring, adding tens of thousands of dollars to the price of a new single-family home and thousands of dollars to the price of a multifamily home. Contact your Member of Congress and tell them to stop President Biden’s trade war with Canada, which is punishing American homebuyers and renters. If President Biden and Congress truly want to make housing more affordable for all Americans, they must start by bringing lumber prices down. CALL TO ACTION Single-Family Home Size Continues to Trend Higher BY ROBERT DIETZ An expected impact of the virus crisis is a need for more residential space, as people use homes for more purposes including work. Recent data confirms this impact on the market continues to occur. According to third quarter 2021 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family square floor area increased to 2,337 square feet. Average (mean) square footage for new singlefamily homes increased to 2,541. Since Great Recession lows (and on a oneyear moving average basis), the average size of new single-family homes is now 6.2% higher at 2,518 square feet, while the median size is 9.3% higher at 2,296 square feet. Home size rose from 2009 to 2015 as entrylevel new construction was constrained. Home size declined between 2016 and 2020 as more starter homes were developed. Going forward we expect home size to increase again, given a shift in consumer preferences for more space due to the increased use and roles of homes (for work, for study) in the post-Covid19 environment. Page 13
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