Maurico Umansky, the Los Angeles-based founder of the luxury brokerage The Agency and co-founder of the American Real Estate Association, has offered a pessimistic forecast on the cost of housing.
In an interview with Fox Business News, Umansky predicted efforts by the federal government to bring down housing costs will not work.
“The reality is that we have a very low inventory of housing right now and until we can start seeing a higher inventory of housing, we’re not going to see prices go down,” he said.
Umansky also pointed to “bunch of owners that are sitting in their homes, sitting on low interest rates” who are not willing to move in the current rate environment. This situation is coupled with buyers who have been stuck with “a pumped-up demand for too long” – but even if interest rates drop, Umansky warned, there is still the challenge of limited inventory.
As for the presidential candidates’ approach to housing policy. Umansky was skeptical over Vice President Kamala Harris’ proposed $25,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers as a tool to spark homebuying. Instead, he recalled Donald Trump’s presidency when “the Trump administration, in my opinion, did some great things in lowering the interest rates [and] putting money into the economy” to fuel a vibrant housing market.
“We can’t just go back to the old ways of controlling inflation and controlling supply and demand,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Netflix
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As a Realtor for 30+ years, I agree wholeheartedly with Mauricio….PRICES WILL NOT GO DOWN!
Exactly – I’m a broker in the industry for 40 plus years – housing will continue to appreciate .. prior administration was successful in fueling the housing industry- economic s is key – Kamala /Biden sadly has no leadership in these areas and will continue to be brutal — have to move in an expert way . Otherwise downward spiral …
I Agree…More Government spending with borrowed monies from other Countries is Not our way to prosperity, lower prices on goods and services and interest rates…it will lead us into a black hole
all I can see is home values crashing. this guy is full of wishful thinking…. that means nothing in the real world.
I just love it, when professional opinions, especially “political” in nature are mired in one’s analysis of the housing market.
Certainly, housing pricing is still dependent on the advent of supply and demand. Mortgage rates and affordability level too stands vis a vis with market affordability. Until such time that sellers greed appears to settle down, then a better apolitical opinion matters.
To color your opinion and taint them with “blue or red” in my opinion is purely conjecture.
So Sellers are greedy because they expect a good return on their investment in a home and making large monthly payments for years? Stuff it, buddy.
I don’t disagree with the assertion that housing prices will NOT go down until we see supply increase. However, you cannot dispute the fact that a 2nd GOP administration would be worse for the economy. Under the Biden administration the economy, by most metrics is doing better and headed in the right direction. Check your facts, because I did. Since the end of the Cold War, the economy has done better, by several metrics, under Democratic Presidents, than Republican ones. The same is true if you go back farther, say to end of WW2. Better under Democrats. Housing isn’t the only metric to look at. Job creation is often the most metric to consider. If you aren’t employed, you can’t buy a house. Democratic Presidents are the job creators. Our Country will do better with a Harris/Walz administration rather than the chaos of a 2nd Trump administration.
Please make a case for how the Biden administration has not been a disaster. Just look at the border. Does Aurora, CO not enough evidence?
Susan you have interest rates that have doubled, gas prices that have doubled, food prices that are up 20%, a government that is universally looked at by foreign leaders as a joke, wars breaking out everywhere. How can you possibly look at all this and not see it as an absolute disaster?
Leftist propaganda will not get airhead Kommiela elected. You did no research that validates what you’re claiming unless it was on berniesanderscommie.com
Thank you Mauricio! Bring back Trump and Trump’s policies
Dems cause inflation, then spend to counter it. The $25k credit is insane. Back when Bush introduced the $7500 first-timer credit it was repayable with 0% interest. It had a short-life as Obama came in about 4-6 months later and changed it to $8k credit NON-repayable and subsequently expanded it to $6k non-repayable for repeat buyers. Over 1 million people filed for the credits fraudulently claiming they purchased a house. That’s about $8 BILLION dollars taxpayers were bilked out of.
Now imagine introducing a $25k credit with the same management and people with credit card debt through the roof and inflation at crazy highs. How many people do you think are fraudulently going after that money?
The democrats have the most asinine policy ideas that ultimately are money-giveaways every time. They buy votes with quid pro quo things like paying off student loans, tax credits, they give illegal immigrants phones, houses, cash, and then try to legalize them or allow them to vote. Why is it always democrats that talk about eliminating the electoral college, stacking the supreme court, and weaponizing the impeachment process and judicial system just to remove someone they don’t like from the White House? This is all election interference.
Hey weren’t we told home prices should be going down cuz buyer agent commissions are up for grabs now?
May be once a bunch of foreclosures hit the market cuz people have lost their jobs, ridiculous inflation, jacked up property taxes, we’ll see prices come down-right?
It’s an election year anything can happen & you can bet if the current administration stays in control & continues its Destroy America agenda, if it’s bad for the USA, it will happen.
I recently heard a colleague reference a proposal to tax homeowners based on their equity. THAT would certainly require some homeowners to sell, borrow/refinance.
THAT’S one way to get (force) more homes on the market :/