- Originally published at Inman News - Craig C. Rowe
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As if listing agents don’t have a hard enough time getting sellers to make a few market-friendly improvements to their home, reports from the construction industry suggest the Trump administration’s tariff policy is going to raise the hurdle even higher.
HomeAbroad, a company that provides a range of services for foreign buyers to invest in American real estate, including “fix and flip” mortgages, issued a report stating that “new tariffs will raise house renovation costs by $7,840 on average in 2025, a 15 percent increase, due to the Trump administration’s April 2025 hikes on imported materials.”
Cost to update that kitchen? Nearly 78% more
Kitchens are one of the most common areas buyers hope to see updated when touring a listing. HomeAbroad found that doing so will cost consumers an additional 77.5 percent as a result of tariffs on quartz countertops, refrigerators and stainless steel sinks imported from China.
HomeAbroad’s report on kitchens assumes a 10’ x 10’ space and uses cost of materials findings from HomeGuide.com. It lists tariff-impacted prices for
- cabinets (+10 percent)
- granite (+10 percent) marble (+10 percent) or quartz (+245 percent) countertops
- ceramic tiles (+10 percent)
- refrigerator (+245 percent)
- stainless steel sink (+245 percent)
- vinyl flooring supplied by China (245 percent)
Want a new bathroom? Expect an increase of 41.7 percent, “mainly due to a high 245 percent tariff on Chinese quartz countertops and plumbing parts,” HomeAbroad said.
The most heavily hit items — at the moment — are plumbing and lighting fixtures, vinyl flooring and appliances, which are facing a 245 percent tariff. That rate has been paused for a number of items for 90 days, including things like cement, tile and kitchen cabinets, which sit at 10 percent.
‘Buy American’ can result in shortages and delays
“These high tariffs are shaking up supply chains, with Chinese materials playing a big role,” HomeAbroad stated. “The added costs could push contractors toward domestic options, but with 27 percent of imports from China, shortages and delays loom as the market adjusts. The 90-day pause, ending July 4, 2025, holds non-Chinese tariffs at 10 percent, but if it lifts, rates could jump to 46 percent for Vietnam, 32 percent for Taiwan, 26 percent for India, and 20 percent for Spain, adding $500–$2,300 to a $5,000 order.”
The Trump administration has wavered erratically on tariff timelines and amounts, as well as on which specific materials are subject to what amount and why, making costs exceptionally difficult to forecast.
Tariff impacts on new construction and fix-and-flips
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has weighed in, too, stating on its website that it estimates $14 billion of the $24 billion spent on goods for both new multifamily and single-family housing in 2024 were imported, “meaning approximately 7 percent of all goods used in new residential construction originate from a foreign nation.”
Its Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI), which measures national remodeler sentiment, showed drops across the board, except in one metric that stayed the same: small remodeling projects (under $20,000).
Robert Fragoso is a Southern California real estate investor and coach who builds and flips homes. He was a key player in the growth of Anchor Loans, which finances new builds, renovation and flip projects.
He told Inman in an email that he is optimistic about the greater real estate market, and, as a new-home builder, he said he’s taking “the wait-and-see approach.”
As for renovations and fixer-uppers, Fragoso’s models tell him that tariffs “will have a net 5 [percent to] 7 percent increase in the cost of the repairs, notwithstanding opportunistic retailers using tariffs as a way to increase profit,” he said. “On the new construction SFR front, I expect the increase to be more like 6 [percent to] 10 percent overall increase in the cost of building.”
He also told Inman that the fear some have of costs simply being pushed down to the consumer is justified.
“Generally speaking, the ones that will get hurt on the new projects going forward is not us, the builders or the developers, but the sellers of the homes we are either tearing down to rebuild or just remodel because this cost will directly come off of the amount we can pay for the property as we will try and maintain our profit margins,” he said.
Early concerns about rising costs, hesitation from homeowners
HouseAmp is a fintech company that works with homeowners, agents, contractors and lenders to finance and coordinate pre-sale home renovations. In an email to Inman, CEO Rick Hennessey said rumblings are being heard, but that it hasn’t yet experienced any tangible changes.
“While HouseAmp doesn’t directly track tariff data, we work closely with contractors and service providers nationwide, and we’re starting to hear early concerns about rising material costs — particularly for products with international components like cabinetry, flooring and appliances,” he said.
“We haven’t seen a measurable slowdown in project volume yet, but if tariffs continue to tighten supply chains, we do expect more pricing pressure to hit homeowners and renovation timelines later this year. In particular, we anticipate increased demand for financing options as budgets stretch.”
Like HouseAmp, Revive’s tech-forward business model is predicated on agents helping sellers understand that interior updates will net more money upon a sale. It helps brokerages market services and take a hands-on approach with project execution. It also facilitates external improvements when necessary.
Revive CEO Michael Alladawi told Inman the impact of tariffs is tightening the screws on an already stressed environment.
“We’re seeing consistent 10 [percent to] 20 percent increases in costs for core materials like cabinetry, appliances and fixtures. This inflation is leading to hesitation from homeowners and risk buffering from contractors who are adjusting bids to protect against future volatility.”
The company published a report finding that presale renovations are becoming a popular method to make a listing look more inviting to the market. The report found that sellers see an additional profit of $145,000 after a home update, among other benefits.
The paper reports an ROI average of 112 percent and a home value jump 28 percent as a result of a strategic renovation. The company does make clear that individual market metrics impact its service end result and that it’s important for sellers to consider what parts of a home need to be updated. For instance, a primary bathroom re-do may outperform a dining room makeover.
Should tariffs hit as expected, agents will need to run some intricate math to determine if the added cost will result in comparable, pre-tariff ROI. If the sale price rises above comps, the house could face headwinds once on the market.
To that end, Revive is instituting cost-saving measures for clients by stockpiling common items and working as often as possible with local suppliers. If there’s anything shining along the edges of the looming tariff front, it’s that renovations are becoming more deliberate and strategic, albeit smaller in scope.
Alladawi also said that newly renovated homes offer worthy alternatives to new builds.
“The full impact of these cost pressures is still unfolding, but what we’re seeing may be the early signs of a recalibration in the renovation economy,” he said.
To make matters even worse for update-minded sellers, cost-conscious buyers, their agents and anxious contractors, there’s little certainty to any of this. The tariff rate on Chinese imports could change in the blink of a Truth Social post. Like the one this morning, May 9, moments before this article was published:
“80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B.” President Donald Trump via Truth Social, morning of May 9, 2025.
