Prospective first-time and Gen-Z homebuyers are increasingly nervous about the economic landscape, seeing high interest rates and home prices in many urban markets topping the $1 million mark.
During recent conference calls with Wall Street analysts, top executives for D.R. Horton and PulteGroup said the industry is increasingly collaborating with mortgage companies and local banks to develop innovative financing solutions and incentives to get first-time buyers off the sidelines.
At D.R. Horton, CEO Paul Romanowski said 55–56 percent of new home deliveries from the nation’s largest homebuilder have been to first-time buyers. Meanwhile, 70 percent of deliveries were at $400,000 or less, “which for us is maintaining a focus on affordability and a payment that works for people in their monthly budget.”
“I think we have made adjustments as the market has shifted over the last 12–18 months and feel comfortable with our trajectory and the product offering that we have,” Romanowski said.
In Atlanta, PulteGroup has also developed and implemented various tools to assist first-time homebuyers navigating their personal homeownership challenges. With growing concerns about the potential for a slowing economy, PulteGroup is offering new product designs, more efficient floor plans, and meaningful financial incentives that move the needle.
Such offerings include new financing vehicles such as forward commitments, where PulteGroup’s local builders can offer a below-market interest rate on a 30-year mortgage for qualified homebuyers.
According to Houston banker Mike Iorio, interest-rate buy-down programs and forward commitments allow homebuilders to partner with banks or mortgage companies and commit to purchasing a pool of loan funds at a reduced rate over a specific period. This enables builders to lock in an interest rate for future home closings and offer buyers below-market rates without lowering the sale price, he said.
At Cornerstone, Iorio was recently appointed senior vice president of strategic partnerships to spearhead the expansion of the company’s homebuilder program nationwide. He said the fast-growing Texas community bank has seen the number of forward commitments double in 2024 to more than $2.4 billion as interest rates for a 30-year mortgage have climbed to nearly 7 percent nationally.
“It’s not free, and it’s not cheap,” said Iorio. “But what it does is it allows (builders) to advertise in their communities, and they can do it either on a specific home or they can do it for an entire community.”
Once one of the nation’s poorest counties with one of the highest U.S. jobless rates at 16 percent during the Great Recession, the Delta region is now anchored by major steel producers that have reshaped the local economy, provided thousands of high-paying jobs, and attracted billions in capital investment.
For example, Pittsburgh-based steel conglomerate U.S. Steel is on track to start up full production at its $3 billion, 6.3 million-ton “Big River 2” mega mill on the Mississippi River in the second half of this year. Nucor Steel, the nation’s largest steel producer, also operates a 1,000-employee specialty cold mill and another 800-employee joint venture manufacturing facility with Japan’s Yamato Steel in the county.
Randy Scott, CEO of Farmer’s Trust Bank, said the community began brainstorming over a decade ago on ways the county could tackle the region’s persistently high unemployment and negative population growth. As the steel industry drew workers around for entry-level jobs up to $100,000 annually, WHLH was founded to address the need for more and better housing.
“We had people driving to work every day from as far as the foothills of Missouri and from several other states just so they could get a job at one of the mills,” Scott told the Epoch Times, adding the nonprofit foundation celebrated its 100th new home in 2024.
Funded by the participating employers, the program offers employees up to $50,000 toward the cost of a new home and up to $25,000 toward an existing home. Since its inception, WHLH initiative has generated $37.4 million in new home value and facilitated 146 home purchases. “And our unemployment rate is now down to 4 percent,” Scott said.
As president of Melville, New York-based Nationwide Mortgage Bankers (NMB), Brennan oversees sales and operations for the 500-employee company licensed in 47 states. He told The Epoch Times that affordability is the biggest challenge for buyers entering a volatile housing market.
“The most important thing anyone can offer is education,” he said, noting new programs such as 40-year mortgages are being introduced every day to lure reluctant buyers into the market.
In the current market, Beeston noted the disparity in housing prices across the United States, with affordable markets such as Texas and Arkansas contrasting with high-end cities like Miami Beach, emphasizing the role of down payment assistance programs and the impact of inventory on affordability.
“It doesn’t matter how creative I get about financing. You can’t buy a million-dollar house with a $60,000 a year salary,” she told The Epoch Times. “So those are bigger issues that need to be resolved. Thankfully, the bulk of America is not that dark.”
