NAHB Podcast: Clarity from Chevron Ruling, Concern Over Debate
On the latest episode of NAHB’s podcast, Housing Developments, CEO Jim Tobin and COO Paul Lopez touch on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the Chevron deference and housing discussion (or lack thereof) during the presidential debate.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling overturning the Chevron deference, which has given federal agencies wide latitude to interpret the scope of the nation’s laws. NAHB has a long history of fighting against Chevron deference because it allows federal agencies to write the laws, enforce the laws and interpret the laws.
Although it offers a new opportunity to challenge regulations, the real win is how this should improve the legislative process by promoting more carefully crafted and bipartisan legislation.
“More importantly, I think you're going to find subject matter experts, especially like those we have here at NAHB — we’re going to rely on them to write the new laws, and I think that’s a good thing,” Tobin noted.
“We’re going to get better laws because of this,” he added. “Let's rely on writing good, solid, bipartisan, enduring laws.”
Tobin and Lopez also review the presidential debate performance, which was disappointing on a number of fronts — including its lack of dialogue around housing.
“It’s really unfortunate because the economy is such a big campaign issue and housing is such a big issue for the economy,” Tobin stated. “That it was not mentioned — even in a passing blow — it was really disappointing from a policy perspective.”
Listen to the full episode below, and subscribe to Housing Development through your favorite podcast provider or watch all the episodes on YouTube.Latest from NAHBNow
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released the NAHB Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the third quarter, posting a reading of 62—up one point compared to the previous quarter.
For the first time since 2022, the share of new homes with two-story foyers increased, according to the Census Bureau's Survey of Construction (SOC). Despite the increase, the market share of two-story foyers has generally trended downward since 2017, with most new single-family homes being built without a two-story foyer both nationally and regionally.
Latest Economic News
In the third quarter of 2026, the NAHB Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 62, up one point compared to the previous quarter. The RMI has remained within a narrow band between 59 and 70 for the past four years.
Mortgage application activity declined as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose sharply. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage application volume, decreased 7.7% month-over-month in September on a seasonally adjusted basis. Compared to a year ago, total mortgage applications were lower by 35.4%.
Mortgage rates rose sharply in September as multiple factors applied significant upward pressure on the U.S. treasury yields. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.86% in September, up nearly 20 basis points (bps) from August.