Everyone’s freaking out about tariffs. But here’s the truth the headlines aren’t telling you:

A 3–5% construction cost increase? In Seattle, that’s just called Friday.

I asked ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini the same question:

“What impact will tariffs have on multifamily construction?”

ChatGPT stayed chill: +2–4% cost, mostly from steel, aluminum, HVAC parts, and windows.

Grok went full economist mode: breaking down lumber tariffs, labor shortages, and supply chain risks — but somehow still made it sound like a win for Team Elon.

Gemini showed up in full doomsday gear: warning about 25% tariffs on metals, 50% tariffs on fixtures, and (probably) the collapse of Western civilization.

Different bots, different biases.

Same bottom line.

If you’re building today, plan for a few extra points on your hard costs — but no need to grab the panic button.

In markets like Seattle, volatility and cost creep have been baked in for years.

Politics aside, if you want to talk about real construction numbers (not conspiracy theories), shoot me a message.

Happy to swap notes — and jokes — anytime.