Buying a house is getting easier, but Trump tariffs could change that

“Buyers who are ready and qualified have more opportunity now than they did a year ago,” said Vinny Rodriguez, a senior loan officer at Fulcrum Home Loans, an Idaho company with customers in much of the country.

Rodriguez said he’s seeing more of his clients come out of waiting. Nationally, there’s also been an uptick in mortgage demand, which is at its strongest in months. While affordability remains a high hurdle, many of these buyers, Rodriguez said, are beginning to accept current market conditions.

Still, he cautioned, economic policy remains a major question mark and the modest relief could be short-lived.

Much of that uncertainty, Rodriguez said, comes from trade talk.

“Every headline is like, ‘Do I go left, do I go right?’” Rodriguez said. “When the market is uncertain in the ways it has been, that could slow the development of building and also homes being sold.”

On the industry side, homebuilders are feeling glum amid tariff talk. Builder sentiment is dropping as everything from lumber to appliances is expected to grow pricier. That could offset progress on inventory shortages and affordability — with some building contractors already hiking prices as much as 20%.

Rodriguez described the keys to stabilizing the market: slow home value appreciation and steady declines in interest rates. In a market that’s been shakier on the supply side, he noted, rapid changes ratchet up prices, and therefore buyer difficulty.

“I would prefer if we stayed the course,” Rodriguez said. “Any sudden movements are going to have people reacting fast.”

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