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Why is buying a home harder than ever in 2025 — even worse than 2007? Sean Dobson, Chairman & CEO of Amherst (one of America’s largest real estate investment firms), joins The Right Idea to break down the real drivers of the housing affordability crisis and what can actually fix it. We dive deep into labor costs, local regulations, property taxes, garages nobody uses, the future of renting vs. owning, immigration’s impact on construction, and why gimmicks like 50-year mortgages or rent control won’t solve anything. If you want to understand why young families can’t buy homes anymore — and what policymakers should actually do — this is the episode.
01:14 – Hot Take: Why the Epstein file release won’t end the conspiracies
03:06 – Today’s guest: Sean Dobson (CEO of Amherst)
04:12 – What actually goes into the cost of building a house? (2/3 labor!)
05:58 – Modular homes, factory construction, and why it’s still only single-digit savings
09:15 – Can the average person even build their own house today?
10:34 – How local regulations silently drive up costs
11:26 – The $55,000 garage nobody parks in
14:29 – California’s ADU precedent & state vs. city power
17:20 – 2025 affordability worse than 2007? Here’s why
22:11 – Why politicians keep floating 50-year mortgages & subprime 2.0
24:19 – What does “affordable” even mean? (The 1/3 income rule)
26:07 – Texas property taxes: 40%+ of your housing cost?!
30:37 – Renting is not failure: Why the “American Dream” narrative is outdated
33:31 – The real labor crisis in construction (and immigration’s role)
39:53 – Rent control: Why it always backfires
42:26 – Sean’s magic wand fix: Restore credit access & rename the “subprime” crisis
01:14 – Hot Take: Why the Epstein file release won’t end the conspiracies
03:06 – Today’s guest: Sean Dobson (CEO of Amherst)
04:12 – What actually goes into the cost of building a house? (2/3 labor!)
05:58 – Modular homes, factory construction, and why it’s still only single-digit savings
09:15 – Can the average person even build their own house today?
10:34 – How local regulations silently drive up costs
11:26 – The $55,000 garage nobody parks in
14:29 – California’s ADU precedent & state vs. city power
17:20 – 2025 affordability worse than 2007? Here’s why
22:11 – Why politicians keep floating 50-year mortgages & subprime 2.0
24:19 – What does “affordable” even mean? (The 1/3 income rule)
26:07 – Texas property taxes: 40%+ of your housing cost?!
30:37 – Renting is not failure: Why the “American Dream” narrative is outdated
33:31 – The real labor crisis in construction (and immigration’s role)
39:53 – Rent control: Why it always backfires
42:26 – Sean’s magic wand fix: Restore credit access & rename the “subprime” crisis
Creators and Guests
Host
Brian Phillips
Brian Phillips is the Chief Communications Officer at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. For over a decade, Brian has helped policymakers and political candidates develop effective messages and communication strategies. Phillips is a veteran of presidential, congressional, and gubernatorial campaigns, and has extensive experience working in the United States Congress and public policy think tanks.
Host
Derek M. Cohen
Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D, is the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Chief Policy & Research Officer and Right on Crime Senior Fellow. Previously the Vice President of Policy and director of Right on Crime, the Foundation’s criminal justice reform initiative, Cohen was instrumental in the passage of the First Step Act, federal legislation that borrowed from successful changes to prisons and sentencing that he had helped pass in conservative states. In addition to leading the Foundation’s work on criminal justice, he is also the lead researcher of firearms policy.
What is The Right Idea?
The Right Idea: The Texas Public Policy Foundation's weekly look at the people, policy, and politics that drive Texas.