Podcast: Housing Market Braces for Tense Spring Home Buying Season
In the latest episode of NAHB’s podcast, Housing Developments, CEO Jim Tobin and COO Paul Lopez delve into market uncertainties ahead of the spring home buying season, efforts to bolster housing supply, what the 2027 budget cuts could mean for housing and how members can engage in the codes process.
Market Uncertainties for Spring
Similar to this time frame in 2025, when tariffs and immigration policy were causing uncertainty in the market, the Iranian war has led to uncertainty again as interest rates tick up closer to 6.5% and gas prices are on the rise.
“The word [NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz] has used is ‘a collective holding of the breath,’ of buyers out there,” Tobin shared.
Although the political components of the issue may be short lived, the timing with the spring market may have a longer impact.
Solving the Housing Supply Shortage
Tobin continues to hit the road to talk directly with members of the Federation, most recently in Virginia, about the issues they’re facing. The biggest issues builders are noting are related to land use — including a focus more on custom home building on existing lots versus communities — and how governments can help fix them to allow builders to increase much-needed housing supply.
But this is not just a local issue, as recent national efforts have shown:
- The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act has been stalled between the House and the Senate, but could provide durable, bipartisan legislation for housing.
- The Trump administration has issued a number of executive orders to bolster housing supply.
“Everybody’s trying to solve the problem,” Tobin noted.
“But we need some macrostability that we’re on kind of a glide path,” he added, “and we keep jumping from crisis to crisis.”
Budget Cuts for HUD
President Trump released a proposed budget for 2027, which included a nearly $11 billion cut for HUD and zeroing out the Job Corps program that could be cause for concern.
“The budget is always a glimpse into the mind of the administration,” Tobin shared. “It’s the necessary step, but we’ll be working with our House and Senate appropriators to make sure NAHB’s priorities are in the final package of spending.”
Tobin and Lopez also discuss the importance of:
- Expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and how it is playing out in this uncertain market, and
- Engaging in the International Code Council Public Comment Hearings for the 2024-2027 building code cycle, which begin April 19 in Hartford, Conn. Visit nahb.org/codes for a list of upcoming meetings.
Listen to the full episode of the podcast below and subscribe to Housing Developments through your favorite podcast provider, or watch all the episodes on YouTube.