Fox Business Network anchor Cheryl Casone launches her new show American Dream Home tonight, September 21st, with 2 very special back-to-back episodes. The show follows Americans who dream of being homeowners on their journey to making that dream a reality.
Reporting on Real Estate, the job market, and financial news at Fox since 2007, Cheryl considers herself one of the “originals” who helped launch Fox Business Network from the ground up. Now, she is taking her reporting even further with her own show that celebrates hard-working Americans and their journey to becoming homeowners.
“This is a really exciting new departure,” she comments. “And the whole lineup is about how lucky we are to live here in this country and have the opportunities that we have.”
Cheryl Casone gave Haute Residence the inside scoop on her new show, the housing market, and millennial homeownership.
Can you talk a bit more about American Dream Home, how did it come to fruition?
I’ve been covering real estate news for Fox Business for 7 years. [A real estate show] has always been something I knew viewers wanted—we just did not have the opportunity to do it in a meaningful way. In real estate, you need to tell a story; and it’s not a 2-minute story, it’s a 25-minute story. You need to be with the buyer, spend time talking about options, spend time looking at the market, looking at all the area has to offer. It’s a huge undertaking, but I’m beyond excited to get a chance to cover real estate like this!
What can viewers expect from the show that is different from other real estate shows?
What I love about this is that we get to know the back-story of the people. One man this season was put up for adoption at the age of 4 and had a huge sense of rejection. One thing he always wanted was a home and now he is a real estate broker! Our show follows him finding his dream home. Another couple’s home was destroyed by a hurricane and we follow their story of replacing the beach home they lost. There are stories about a Navy officer and an ER nurse that treated patients amidst Covid who realized there is way more to life than work and decided to buy a home in Hawaii. I have never seen a show where they give a backstory and get to know who the home buyers are.
American Dream Home is not a tear-down-a-home kind of show. This show is about the stories of people and how they got to their dream home. It's inspirational, it's real people, it's not mansions— it's a dream home. It covers regular people who suffered heartbreak, that maybe had obstacles, that dream of owning a home in a beautiful location.
Has the housing market changed since Covid-19? What kind of permanent impact has the pandemic made?
The housing market has changed and it will not go back to the way it was before, especially because now people are working from home permanently. People fled urban centers during the pandemic and went to the suburbs. We are seeing bidding wars, homes off and on market in one day, and people going way above the asking price. With interest rates at 3%, it’s still a hot market, but what we see is that it's the younger millennial buyers are getting into the urban markets because there are opportunities there right now. Both markets are strong, but it's who the people are that are buying these properties that are different. The dynamic has definitely changed.
Is owning a home still a feasible part of the American dream— especially for millennials?
Owning a home is the American dream. I am 100% a true believer in owning property— why would you throw your money away on rent when you can buy? I know it’s harder when you’re younger, but I bought my first home at 22. Since then I have flipped, bought, sold, and renovated. A real estate portfolio is a huge part of retirement and net worth. 100% people need to buy, and for the younger generation — 3% for a 30-year mortgage— why would you not jump on that?
American Dream Home premieres tonight, September 21st, at 8 pm ET on Fox Business Network.
For more information, please visit the website here.
