Running head: PRICE SYSTEM REVIEW 1
News Article Review: Price System
Luke Skywalker
Liberty University
PPOG502-C01-202520
News Article Review: Price System 2
“New Construction Drops Sharply in January on Cold Weather and Affordability Concerns”
The weather has traditionally played an impactful role in the world of construction and
the more effective project managers find ways to incorporate weather forecasting into the
planning process. According to The Civil Engineer, “Weather-related delays can have a direct
effect on the project's financial results because they can result in both direct and indirect
expenditures, such as increased labor expenses and equipment rents as well as lost productivity
and longer project schedules.” (Engineer, 2024). It is difficult to believe that, in the year 2025,
the weather still plays a more significant role than labor or market variances. There could be
some minor allowance that the winter weather was unseasonably colder this year for a short
period, but seasoned builders and developers should have anticipated variances of some degree
and made accommodations. Tim Smart also mentions how “builder confidence fell sharply in
January in reaction to higher prices, mortgage rates and worries about proposed impost tariffs
on construction materials.” (Smart, 2025). This is the more likely culprit rather than weather, yet
the title of the article does little to dissuade from the legacy media’s attempt at misinformation.
Instead, there is a perception that the article was subconsciously making a subtle connection
between climate change and how it could be impacting the housing industry. In addition, there
was an article published approximately a month earlier on Fox Business, by Breck Dumas. In it,
she highlighted how mortgage rates had skyrocketed past 7%, continuing an upward climb
despite the Federal Reserve Bank lowering the Federal Fund Rate twice in the past six months.
(Dumas, 2025). When considering the lessons from this week’s reading of Gwartney et al., it
would appear that the law of demand is effect. That law illustrates that “when a rise in the
price of a good makes it more expensive for buyers to purchase it, they normally choose to buy
fewer units.” (Gwartney et al., 2024). It seems clear that with the change of the President of the
United States and the early indicators from members of his new administration of an ‘America
First’ agenda, the fear of tariffs had more effect than the weather. To be fair, those tariffs will
have a real effect on the price of homes as illustrated by this fact from
News Article Review: Price System 3
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chief Economist Robert Dietz “With 32% of
appliances and 30% of softwood lumber coming from international trade, uncertainty over the
scale and scope of tariffs has builders further concerned about costs” (Smart, 2025).
Another significant factor that Tim Smart’s headline and article barely acknowledges is
the labor market. In an article published by Pedro Camacho, there are an estimated 1.5 million
illegal immigrants, which comprise nearly 13% of the total workforce, in the housing industry.
The threat of deportation from the new White House administration has caused labor shortages
as these employees are now fleeing the country or going into hiding. The ripple effect of these
lost man-hours is just now beginning to hit the market, with the full impact being realized more
in the coming weeks and months. Perhaps the job market will be buoyed by Americans
beginning to fill these jobs and recapturing some of the ‘can-do’ attitude needed for the long
recovery ahead.
References
Camacho, P. (2024, November 17). Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan Could Cripple
Housing Market Amid Construction Worker Shortages. MSN. https://www.msn.com/en-
us/money/markets/trumps-mass-deportation-plan-couldcripple-housing-market-amid-
construction-worker-shortages/ar-AA1ueGFD
Dumas, B. (2025, January 16). Mortgage rates rise above 7% for first time since May.
Fox Business. https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/mortgage-rates-january-16-
2025
Engineer, T. C. (2024, November 26). The impact of weather on Construction timelines:
Planning tips. The Impact of Weather on Construction Timelines: Planning Tips.
https://www.thecivilengineer18.com/2024/11/the-impact-of-weather-
onconstruction.html
News Article Review: Price System 4
Gwartney, J. D., Lee, D. R., Ferrarini, T. H., Calhoun, J. P., & Shaw, J. S. (2024). Common sense
economics: What everyone should know about wealth and prosperity. St. Martin’s Press.
Smart, T. (2025, February 19). New Construction Drops Sharply in January on Cold
Weather and Affordability Concerns. U.S. News & World Report.
https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2025-02-19/new-constructiondrops-
sharply-in-january-on-cold-weather-and-affordability-concerns
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