In this episode of Excess Returns, Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather joins Matt Zeigler to unpack what she calls the Great Housing Reset. Rather than a housing crash or correction, Fairweather argues the market is entering a multi year transition toward something more normal, where incomes gradually catch up to home prices and affordability improves at the margin. The conversation covers mortgage rates, supply constraints, regional housing dynamics, climate risk, policy tradeoffs, and how AI is reshaping real estate decisions for buyers, renters, and investors.
Topics covered in this episode
• Why the current housing market is a reset, not a crash or correction
• How income growth outpacing home price growth could slowly improve affordability
• Mortgage rate dynamics and why rates may stay near the low 6 percent range
• The mortgage rate lock in effect and why inventory may take years to normalize
• Regional housing trends including the Midwest, Northeast, Sunbelt, and tech hubs
• The role of wages, rents, and affordability for Gen Z and first time homebuyers
• Investor activity, rental markets, and the outlook for housing as an investment
• Immigration, foreign buyers, and local market distortions
• Multi generational living, ADUs, and creative housing solutions
• Housing policy ideas that actually address supply constraints
• Why demand side policies like 50 year mortgages miss the real problem
• Climate risk, insurance costs, and total cost of home ownership
• How AI and conversational search are changing the home buying process
• The future of MLS consolidation and real estate market structure
• Practical guidance for renters, buyers, and homeowners looking ahead to 2026
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and the Great Housing Reset
02:00 What a housing reset really means
03:30 Income growth versus home price growth
05:20 Mortgage rates and the outlook for borrowing costs
08:40 Fed policy, bond markets, and mortgage rates
10:40 Inventory shortages and the lock in effect
12:30 Regional housing market winners and losers
16:00 Affordability challenges for younger buyers
19:00 Rental markets and investor dynamics
21:20 Multi generational living and ADUs
25:00 Housing policy and supply constraints
29:30 Why 50 year mortgages do not solve affordability
33:00 Geographic housing outlook by life stage
39:30 Climate risk, insurance, and housing costs
47:00 Energy efficiency and dense housing
50:20 AI, real estate search, and market structure
54:30 What to watch in the housing market through 2026
59:30 Book discussion and where to follow Daryl Fairweather
