The days of 3 to 4% mortgages may be 'gone,' NAHB CEO says

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The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported home builder confidence to have risen to a print of 41 in September, up from August's reading of 39. Mortgage rates, also, continued to cool to 6.2%, declining their lowest levels since February 2023.

Josh Lipton and Josh Schafer bring National Association of Home Builders CEO Jim Tobin onto Market Domination to talk about the signals the Federal Reserve is sending to the US housing market as the central bank continues to cut interest rates for the first time in four years this week.

The Fed's rate narrative "does translate into almost a one-for-one cut in those construction loans that our members use in order to buy and improve land and start projects. So that's really what the Fed means for homebuilding in the short term," Tobin explains.

He touches on the latest economic proposals hinted at by presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris and why the focus should remain on the supply side of the housing market.

"The days of 3 or 4% mortgages are gone, I'm afraid. So what we need to do is get this whole generation of buyers to recognize that 5.5% is still really cheap money, historically, when it comes to mortgage rates," Tobin says. "And it's going to be a great time to buy your home. For those who bought earlier in the last couple of years, it's going to be an opportunity for them to refi [refinance]."

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination.

This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

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