Tom Pérez:
Of course.
No, your argument is correct. When you have a 3 percent interest rate on your loan and you’re trying to buy a new home and, right now, you’re in a 6 percent, 6.5 percent interest rate environment. hundred is a problem.
The first part of the president’s proposal will help a person who has lived in their home and had no children when they purchased the home, but now has two children, get a $10 tax credit. $000 for two years if she moves to a bigger house. This will free up this existing stock. That’s $400 a month.
And the reason we chose two years is because we believe that in two years the interest rate environment will continue to improve, as it has. So that’s an example of what we’re trying to do to help owners and to address the issue that you mentioned about not having enough inventory.
But another thing we have to do is build, build, build. We need more housing. And the president talked about it in the State of the Union. The president’s budget includes a $20 billion proposal to work with state, local officials and other key stakeholders to build more affordable housing.
We need more supply. Currently, 1.7 million homes are already under construction, which is a record. But we know this is just the tip of the needs iceberg. And that’s why the president is so aggressive.