Program and guest
Fox Business’s Varney & Co. (approximately 3 minutes and 12 seconds), featuring Jim Tobin, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). This article covers Tobin’s full interview.
Key points
(The following paraphrases the guest’s intended meaning; the timestamp links point to the corresponding locations in the original video.)
- Mortgage rates of 7.5% are eating up all the good news: despite victories on the regulatory and legislative fronts, high interest rates and mortgage rates dominate the headlines. The association expects single-family housing starts to fall by at least 4% this year and another 3% next year. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpMCBI6g1pM&t=21s）
- Middle-class homebuying is hardest hit: luxury builders are doing reasonably well, while ordinary middle-class buyers face the greatest difficulty. People are moving out of high-cost states, and the lower end of the market most needs lower housing costs, whether borrowing or construction costs. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpMCBI6g1pM&t=42s）
- The American dream is not dead, only delayed: Tobin disagrees with the claim that the American dream is dead. He believes homeownership has always been a pathway into the middle class, and that the solution is to increase supply and give buyers more choices. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpMCBI6g1pM&t=96s）
- Buying now is a better deal than waiting five years: if you always try to time the market, you will always get it wrong. A home today will only be more expensive in five years, so do not delay until you miss out. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpMCBI6g1pM&t=156s）
Background and notes
The subtitles cover the full program (approximately 3 minutes and 12 seconds); this article covers Tobin’s full interview. The program subtitles are transcribed in all capitals; the guest’s name follows the program description (Jim Tobin), rather than the spelling in the subtitle transcript.