Tech News
Builders say Trump tariffs will add $7,500 to $10,000 to the cost of building a home. The outcome? More expensive or smaller houses

Shopping for a new home? Ready to renovate your kitchen or install a new deck? You’ll be paying more to do so.
The Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China — some already in place, others set to take effect in a few weeks — are already driving up the cost of building materials used in new residential construction and home remodeling projects.
The tariffs are projected to raise the costs that go into building a single-family home in the U.S. by $7,500 to $10,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Such costs are typically passed along to the homebuyer in the form of higher prices, which could hurt demand at a time when the U.S. housing market remains in a slump and many builders are having to offer buyers costly incentives to drum up sales.
We Buy Houses in San Francisco, which purchases foreclosed homes and then typically renovates and sells them, is increasing prices on its refurbished properties between 7% and 12%. That’s even after saving $52,000 in costs by stockpiling 62% more Canadian lumber than usual.
“The uncertainty of how long these tariffs will continue has been the most challenging aspect of our planning,” said CEO Mamta Saini.
Bad timing for builders
The timing of the tariffs couldn’t be worse for homebuilders and the home remodeling industry, as this is typically the busiest time of year for home sales. The prospect of a trade war has roiled the stock market and stoked worries about the economy, which could lead many would-be homebuyers to remain on the sidelines.
“Rising costs due to tariffs on imports will leave builders with few options,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “They can choose to pass higher costs along to consumers, which will mean higher home prices, or try to use less of these materials, which will mean smaller homes.”
Prices for building materials, including lumber, have been rising, even though the White House has delayed its tariffs rollout on some products. Lumber futures jumped to $658.71 per thousand board feet on March 4, reaching their highest level in more than two years.
The increase is already inflating costs for construction projects.
Dana Schnipper, a partner at building materials supplier JC Ryan in Farmingdale, New York, sourced wooden doors and frames for an apartment complex in Nassau County from a company in Canada that cost less than the American equivalent.
Half the job has already been supplied. But once the tariff goes into effect it will be applied to the remaining $75,000, adding $19,000 to the at-cost total. Once JC Ryan applies its mark up, that means the customer will owe $30,000 more than originally planned, Schnipper said.
He also expects the tariffs will give American manufacturers cover to raise prices on steel components.
“These prices will never come down,” Schnipper said. “Whatever is going to happen, these things will be sticky and hopefully we’re good enough as a small business, that we can absorb some of that. We can’t certainly absorb all of it, so I don’t know. It’s going to be an interesting couple of months.”
Sidestepping the tariffs by using an alternative to imported building materials isn’t always an option.
Bar Zakheim, owner of Better Place Design & Build, a contracting business in San Diego that specializes in building accessible dwelling units, or ADUs, said Canada remains the best source for lumber.
By sticking with imported lumber, Zakheim had to raise his prices about 15% compared with a year ago. He also has 8% fewer jobs lined up compared with last year.
“I’m not about to go out of business, but it’s looking to be a slow, expensive year for us,” he said.
Tariffs rollercoaster
On March 6, the Trump administration announced a one-month delay on its 25% tariffs on certain imports from Mexico and Canada, including softwood lumber. Tariffs of 20% on imports from China are already in effect. A 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports — 50% on those from Canada — kicked in on March 12.
Tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods slated to go into effect next month will raise the cost of imported construction materials by more than $3 billion, according to the NAHB. Those price hikes would be in addition to a 14.5% tariff on Canadian lumber previously imposed by the U.S., ratcheting up tariffs on Canadian lumber to 39.5%.
On Air Force One, President Donald Trump said he was pushing forward with his plans for tariffs on April 2 despite recent disruption in the stock market and nervousness about the economic impact.
“April 2 is a liberating day for our country,” he said. “We’re getting back some of the wealth that very, very foolish presidents gave away because they had no clue what they were doing.”
Building materials costs overall are already up 34% since December 2020, according to the NAHB.
Builders depend on raw materials, appliances and many other components produced abroad. About 7.3% of all products used in single-family home and apartment building construction are imported. Of those, nearly a quarter come from Canada and Mexico, according to the NAHB.
Both nations also account for 70% of the imports of two key home construction materials: lumber and gypsum. Canadian lumber is used in everything from framing to cabinetry and furniture. Mexican gypsum is used to make drywall.
Beyond raw materials, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and an array of other home components are manufactured in Mexico and China, which is also a key source of steel and aluminum.
The tariffs will mean higher prices for home improvement shoppers, said Dent Johnson, president of True Value Hardware, which operates more than 4,000 independently owned hardware stores.
“The reality is that many products on the shelves of your local hardware store will eventually be affected,” he said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.
Chilling effect
Confusion over the timing and scope of the tariffs, and their impact on the economy, could have a bigger chilling effect on the new-home market than higher prices.
“If consumers can’t plan, if builders can’t plan, it gets very difficult to know how to price product because you don’t know what price you need to move it,” said Carl Reichardt, a homebuilding analyst at BTIG. “If people are worried about their jobs, worried about the future, it’s very difficult to make the decision to buy a new home, whatever the price.”
The uncertainty created by the Trump administration’s tariffs policy will probably result in increased volatility for home sales and new home construction this year, said Robert Dietz, the NAHB’s chief economist.
Still, because it can take several months for a home to be built, the larger impact of from building materials costs are going to happen “down the road,” Dietz said.
The impact tariffs are having on consumers is already evident at Slutsky Lumber in Ellenville, N.Y.
“There are not as many people getting ready for spring like they usually are,” said co-owner Jonathan Falcon. “It seems like people are just cutting back on spending.”
Falcon also worries that smaller businesses like his will have a tough time absorbing the impact of the tariffs.
“This is just like another thing that’s going to be harder for small lumber yards to handle than the big guys and just sort of keep driving businesses like us to not make it,” he said.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Tech News
Oracle bets big on U.K. AI boom with $5 billion cloud investment

US tech group Oracle on Monday said it plans to invest $5 billion in the UK over the next five years to meet “rapidly growing demand” for cloud services helping drive artificial intelligence.
“The investment will expand Oracle Cloud Infrastructure’s footprint in the UK and help the UK government deliver on its vision for AI innovation and adoption,” Oracle added in a statement.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to ease red tape to attract billions of pounds of investment to help make Britain an “AI superpower”.
Oracle’s founder, Larry Ellison, is a close ally of US President Donald Trump, with whom Starmer is hoping to strike a post-Brexit trade deal.
“By working with global tech leaders like Oracle, we’re cementing the UK’s position at the forefront of the AI revolution,” Britain’s technology minister Peter Kyle said in the joint statement.
Britain currently has the third-largest AI industry after the United States and China.
Starmer’s administration has estimated that AI could be worth £47 billion ($61 billion) to the UK each year over a decade.
The government had already announced that three tech companies — Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl — would commit to spending £14 billion on AI in the UK, leading to the creation of more than 13,000 jobs.
However, there are concerns that sector-wide implementation of AI could result in job losses as the technology replaces tasks carried out by humans.
The UK is seeking clarification on the application of copyright law to AI, which it says aims to protect the creative industry despite widespread concern among artists.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Tech News
Gen Z may not be able to afford a house or the cost of living now—but give it 10 years. They’re on track to gain $36 trillion and become the richest generation

- Gen Z is expected to become the largest and richest economic force by 2035. According to a recent Bank of America report, the youngest generation of workers will amass over $74 trillion in income by 2040. It’ll be a stark—and welcome—change from their current reality of flying by the seat of their pants.
Gen Z is living the paycheck-to-paycheck 20’s lifestyle—splurging on high rent costs and dishing out 99 cent ramen noodles. Yet in just a decade, they’ll be the most powerful economic force.
Only two years ago, Gen Z had amassed $9 trillion in income; but by 2030, they’re expected to have $36 trillion. And by 2040, that number rises to $74 trillion. A recent Bank of America report shows this will place them as the richest—and largest—generation by 2035, as Gen Z is expected to grow to 30% of the global population in the next decade.
Gen Z’s projected economic dominance can feel worlds away from their current economic situation. But there might be light at the end of the tunnel as they climb up the corporate ladder and take on their family’s inheritance.
Gen Z’s current economic woes: no houses and no kids
Many young people are strapped for cash, stepping out of college and into an uncertain job market. Gen Z is having to turn down job opportunities because they can’t afford commuting expenses; spoiling their pets in lieu of having children, which have become too expensive to raise; and abandoning the pipe dream of purchasing a home—unless they receive inheritance.
Gen Z is also struggling with holding down a job: young households receiving unemployment surged 32% year-over-year in February, according to the report. But it’s not for a lack of trying, despite the naysayers. The report says Gen Z are “overeducated and underemployed,” and amid a tough white-collar labor market, unemployment for new entrants was up over 9% year-over-year in February. This results in Gen Z taking up gigs that they may be overqualified or not the right fit for, which can have long-term career ramifications.
Yet in just 10 years, this could all flip on its head. The Bank of America report notes that wage growth for Gen Z increased by 8% year-over-year in February. A part of this bump can be attributed to the generation finally entering the full-time job market, leading to higher wages. But the biggest contributing factor in their financial come-up is the “great wealth transfer,” expected to hit Gen Z bank accounts in the years to come.
The great wealth transfer into the pockets of Gen Z
With the odds stacked against them, Gen Z’s best bet on living comfortably is coming into wealth.
About $84 trillion is anticipated to pass down from seniors and baby boomers to Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z by 2045, according to a 2021 report from Cerulli Associates. Most of the money will be handed over to Gen X and millennials—but 38% of Gen Z still anticipate they will receive an inheritance, according to a separate survey.
Gen Z’s share of the pie, alongside their stark wage increases, will lead to a ballooning of their economic power. Even in the current day, the young generation is a force to be reckoned with. They have higher discretionary spending habits compared to others, and their global spending is expected to reach $12.6 trillion by 2030, compared to $2.7 trillion in 2024. Their spending growth per household has also been stronger than the overall population, including both necessity and discretionary spending, according to the report.
There’s a few reasons why Gen Z spends so much of their money: they’re pouring funds into their high rents and education costs; “doom spending” on essentials and small luxuries, instead of saving up for bigger investments that feel unattainable; and are trying to escape their high credit card and student loan debt.
But businesses should take note—once Gen Z has money to burn, they’ll be in the driver’s seat of the economy. Companies are already taking note of their preferences: luxury, e-commerce, wellness and beauty, and pets. Gen Z is also deeply invested in fintech, new media, gaming, and big tech, according to the Bank of America report. Their tastes will shape what business will thrive in 2035.
“It’s likely they will be among the most disruptive generations to economies, markets and social systems,” the Bank of America report says. “Whether it’s due to changing diets or reduced alcohol consumption or saving and housing, Gen Z will redefine what it means to be a US consumer.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Tech News
Lessons learned on my journey—from MBA grad to the least experienced person in the boardroom

Across college campuses, business school students are gearing up for graduation—excited, uncertain, and determined to make their mark. To the class of 2025, I offer my best wishes—and some hard-earned lessons on navigating the road ahead.
First, know this: The business and tech world needs you. Every new generation brings fresh thinking, and today’s graduates are more prepared than ever for our fast-moving, data-driven economy. As AI and digital transformation continue to reshape industries, business leaders like me are eager to tap into your energy and ideas.
I was recently back at my alma mater, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, talking with MBA students about their transition into the workforce. One key takeaway I shared: Be ready for disruption.
When I was in their shoes 25 years ago, “digital transformation” wasn’t even in our vocabulary. Today, we live it every day. Generative AI is accelerating change across industries, making adaptability and soft skills—communication, collaboration, and the ability to learn on the fly—more critical than ever. Some of my most valuable lessons at Kellogg weren’t about business strategy or operations but about developing this kind of flexible mindset. If I could do it all over again, I’d seek out even more experiences that push me beyond the classroom, because those are the ones that truly shape your growth.
The least qualified person in the room
As you move up in your career, your area of expertise becomes just one part of the equation. People skills take center stage. Having recently marked five years as CEO of Informatica, I can tell you that much of my job isn’t about technology—it’s about people.
I’ll never forget my first leadership team meeting as CEO. Looking around the room, I realized I was the least experienced person there. My executives had spent years mastering their domains—far longer than I had been CEO. That moment reinforced something I had learned throughout my career: Success isn’t about knowing everything. It’s about surrounding yourself with great people, trusting their expertise, and building strong relationships.
This lesson applies at every level, from interns to chief experience officers. Early in my career, I leaned on mentors and colleagues for guidance. Now, as CEO, I do the same. No one succeeds alone.
Embracing change and iterating your career
The tech industry has always been fast paced, but with AI and automation redefining roles across fields, today’s graduates may face even greater uncertainty. My advice? Don’t fear change—embrace it. Disruption creates opportunities to innovate, learn, and add value in unexpected ways.
That mindset shaped my own career, which evolved in three major phases: engineering, product management, and ultimately leading a global tech company with over 5,000 employees. I couldn’t have predicted every step, but I stayed adaptable and open to new challenges. Some transitions required me to rethink traditional business models, but in every case, I focused on the future rather than clinging to the past.
Everyone’s journey looks different. Some graduates will join startups, others will work for Fortune 1000 companies. Some will change careers entirely or take time off to raise families before returning to the workforce. There’s no single route to success, and that’s a good thing.
Career paths aren’t always linear or easy. Some MBA grads today are struggling to find jobs. But setbacks are temporary. If you anticipate change and build the skills to navigate it, nothing will stop you from reaching your full potential.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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