Where should we begin this week? There’s President Trump making good on one of his campaign promises over the weekend, and it wasn’t ending Russia’s attack on Ukraine or bringing down the price of gas and eggs. He checked off announcing planned tariffs. Sure, you’ll probably pay more for avocados for your guacamole for the Super Bowl party (or switch entirely to salsa), but no one cares, right? More importantly for the inventory of housing, the move will impact builders, real estate, and local economies. To start, Trump tariffs on Canadian lumber will be problematic for the Lahaina, Carolinas, and California’s disaster recovery… or any builder that uses wood. Who is Maine’s largest trading partner? Canada. Economists expect auto parts, oil, tequila, etc. prices to rise, and U.S. farmers gird for retaliation on their prices for soybeans, corn, and wheat… At least those are the predictions. There are potential advantages: certain products’ manufacturing may shift from other countries to here, helping our economy. With unemployment already low, we shall see! (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Optimal Blue. OB bridges the primary and secondary mortgage markets to deliver the industry’s only end-to-end capital markets platform, helping lenders maximize profitability and operate efficiently so they can help American borrowers achieve the dream of homeownership. Hear an interview with Mike Russell on foreclosures and how mortgage companies can work with borrowers to avoid the process.)