One of the most outspoken real estate investors in America is aiming to set the record straight on what the real estate industry might look like under a future Harris-Walz administration.
"Kamala Harris is either financially illiterate, incompetent, or she believes that her voters are. Her plans come up every week as something new," real estate investor, private equity fund manager and 10X co-founder Grant Cardone said on "Mornings with Maria," Wednesday.
"Kamala does not understand housing," he continued, "and I can tell you why."
Vice President Kamala Harris has rolled out a list of actions she would take to tackle the affordable housing crisis in the U.S. if she wins the presidency, including the expansion of President Biden's proposal earlier this year to provide $25,000 in down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers.
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While Biden's plan from May called on Congress to provide $25,000 for some 400,000 first-generation homebuyers, Harris wants to offer an average of $25,000 assistance to all first-time homebuyers in the country, which the Democratic presidential nominee says would be provided to more than four million people over four years if she were to occupy the Oval Office.
Harris’ affordable housing plans also include proposals to build 3 million new housing units over the next four years. Her campaign wrote in an August press release that America’s housing shortage has caused high prices, and this plan makes rent and mortgages "cheaper."
"She wants to build 3 million new homes, says that she can do it in her first term. They didn't build any last year. And we are 4.2 million homes short in America," Cardone pointed out.
"So why would you want to build 3 million when we're 4 million short? Who are the 1 million that don't get the house?" he further posited. "Who gets the $25,000? The $25,000 first-time buyers credit will actually inflate housing. It will not deflate housing, because they're just going to add the $25,000 or $50,000 or $75,000 to the price of the house."
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The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell for the eighth consecutive week ending on Sept. 20. On Wednesday, the 30-year rate dropped again to 5.99%. Cardone expressed the other housing key is to get rates at 4%.
"If you've been alive long enough to understand, go back to 1980, we have half the sales than we had then, and the interest rates were double what they are today," the investor pointed out.
"Interest rates have to hit 4% or lower in order to lower pricing in America. This is a contrarian view," he added, "but the reality is, as long as rates are hanging out in the 6.5 [percent], 70% of all the existing mortgages in this country are under 4%. If I'm a buyer, I am definitely waiting. I might put a deal on a contract, but with an option to purchase in the future."
FOX Business’ Breck Dumas contributed to this report.