Mark Palim on the Housing Market

The shift from rock-bottom interest rates early in the pandemic to mortgage rates eclipsing 8% has caused housing inventories to plummet and demand for new housing construction to increase. As the housing market reaches somewhat of a standstill from homeowners experiencing “mortgage lock,” rising house prices make first-time homeownership increasingly less affordable. While the housing market has so far weathered these changes without an industry-wide collapse, cyclical forces can always cause distress down the line. In this episode, we talk with Mark Palim, Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist with Fannie Mae, about how the housing market has adjusted to pandemic disruptions, the future for home sales and house prices, and the potential for any systemic risks.