Top of Mind NAR’s Jessica Lautz Takes the Pulse of the Real Estate Industry
In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Jessica Lautz, Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®, to talk about the big trends shaping the real estate industry.
Jessica shares why NAR expects home prices to edge up over the next year, talks about her model for forecasting mortgage rates (and whether we should expect 8% mortgage rates in the future), and surfaces some surprising trends about millennial homebuyers. She also offers insights from NAR’s study on Adaptive Reuse: how to turn empty office buildings into housing.
About Jessica Lautz
Dr. Jessica Lautz is Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®. The core of her research focuses on analyzing trends for both NAR members and housing consumers. Through the management of surveys, focus groups, and data analysis, she presents new and innovative ways to showcase results. She effectively utilizes Research data to educate and impact policymakers on the state of the housing market and discusses research findings in major media outlets and international presentations.
In 2021, Jessica was named one of Housing Wire’s Women of Influence, a list representing 100 of the most influential women in leadership in the housing industry. In 2022 and 2023, Jessica was named a RISMedia Newsmaker in the Influencer and the Crusader categories, respectively. She also volunteers at Nottingham Trent University as an industry fellow mentoring real estate graduate students.
Jessica received her Doctorate of Real Estate from Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. She also holds a Master’s in Public Policy from American University and undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Law and Justice from Central Washington University.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- Why NAR expects home prices to edge up over the next year
- Which stats demonstrate demand has been greater than supply
- Her model for forecasting mortgage rates
- Whether we should expect 8% mortgage rates in the future
- Why NAR uses surveys and focus groups in addition to tracking properties to gain insights into the market, and what they’re learning now
- Surprising trends about millennial homebuyers
- What the current household formation rate means for housing in the near future
- Which stats she looks at that housing analysts don’t normally track
- Insights from NAR’s study on Adaptive Reuse: how to turn empty office buildings into housing
- The dangers of the TikTok housing analysts and why everyone keeps expecting a crash in home prices
- NAR's view on affordability and the future of housing affordability in the US, and her take on what housing looks like over the next decade
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn
- National Association of Realtors
- Mike Simonsen on LinkedIn
- Altos Research
Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research
A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. The company now serves the largest Wall Street investment firms, banks, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals around the country. Mike's insights on the market have been featured in Forbes, New York Times, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, Seattle PI, and many other national media outlets.
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About Altos Research
The Top of Mind Podcast is produced by Altos Research.
Each week, Altos tracks every home for sale in the country - all the pricing, and all the changes in pricing - and synthesizes those analytics to make them available before becoming visible through traditional channels.
Schedule a demo to see Altos in action. You can also get a copy of our free eBook: How To Use Market Data to Build Your Real Estate Business.
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