Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) "Just drive around town ," said Peter Hunt, President and CEO of Hunt Real Estate Corporation. "Look at the projects that were started in 2021 that aren't going anywhere. There's a lot of stalling going on all across the country, especially in urban development."
Real estate is among many industries expected to be impacted by a 25% tariff that President Trump is preparing to announce on steel and aluminum imports.
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A huge component in office buildings today is steel. Tariffs would affect the cost of steel. But Hunt cautions, "We don't know the real goal of the president. He might just be exercising a lever to get a concession from
countries affected by it."
Still, Hunt said, he does not expect to see a lot of new office buildings built anywhere in the U.S. for a while.
"The impact of interest rates is far greater on real estate than the cost of steel.
Tariffs, for the most part, have had literally no effect so far, except in negotiations for other concessions that the United States is seeking. As far as I'm concerned, tariffs are a yawner," he added.
Something that continues to impact commercial and residential construction are interest rates and the cost of materials. That's why so many projects have stalled, or not gotten off the ground. He thinks interest rates are far more important than isolating a tariff on steel or aluminum.