The REconomy Podcast

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi commemorate National Homeownership Month with a deep dive into the state of homeownership, including how it's measured, the demographics of homeownership and what the future holds for prospective buyers.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi and Senior Commercial Economist Xander Snyder examine the wave of retailers going out of business and how their abandoned retail space may impact retail leasing dynamics across the country.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss the impact of recent market volatility and tariff uncertainty, analyzing data to determine if housing has slipped into a recession.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Senior Commercial Economist Xander Snyder discuss the impact rising insurance premiums are having within the commercial real estate market and how CRE property owners are adapting.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi analyze the economic question of the moment – will the downturn in consumer sentiment turn to sediment and usher in a recession?

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi share their thoughts on the outlook for the 2025 spring home-buying season.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi and Senior Commercial Economist Xander Snyder discuss what the encouraging fourth-quarter sales trends mean for the outlook for commercial real estate in the year ahead.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi examine local housing market dynamics, explaining how changes in active inventory and new inventory impacts house prices and sales volume, and highlighting how these dynamics are playing out differently in markets across the country.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss the housing impacts of the recent Los Angeles wildfires, including a preliminary estimate of how much housing supply was lost, with the help of native Angeleno and Senior Commercial Economist Xander Snyder.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss the dynamics fueling the dramatic increase in homeowner's and property insurance, and what it means for the housing market.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi examine the latest signals from the Federal Reserve about the direction of interest rates and the potential for rate cuts in 2025.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi and Senior Commercial Economist Xander Snyder turn their crystal ball to the commercial real estate market, breaking down the outlook for 2025 for all asset classes.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi break out their crystal ball and discuss the outlook for the 2025 housing market, including their expectations for mortgage rates, affordability, sales and house prices in the year ahead.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi explain the Federal Reserve's tools for providing “forward guidance” on the anticipated direction of the economy, interest rates and inflation, and share how to interpret the Fed's signals regarding the year ahead.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss the mysterious metric that moves mortgage rates – the neutral rate of interest – and what it is signaling for the housing market heading into 2025.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi examine the history of homebuilding and the dynamics that have fueled our chronic housing supply crisis and explain the daunting challenges homebuilders face in trying to meet the demand for housing.

In this special 100th episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi gather the entire First American Economics team to address some of their most frequently asked questions about real estate, housing and affordability, recap some of their favorite predictions, and look ahead to what 2025 may bring.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Senior Commercial Economist Xander Snyder explain why there are some glimmers of light in the commercial real estate market for the first time since 2022.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, the seventh and final episode in the Summer School series, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi delve into urban economics, from zoning regulations to land use patterns, examining the dynamics of monocentric and polycentric cities, while exploring the potential impact of remote work on traditional urban models.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, the sixth in the “Summer School” series, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi trace the journey of mortgages, shedding light on how the U.S. stands out with its 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, while exploring how this unique loan product shapes the accessibility and stability of the nation's housing market.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, the fifth in the “Summer School” series, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi dissect the various methodologies for measuring housing affordability and discuss why traditional measures often get it wrong.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi explore capitalization rates – what they are, how they work, and why they matter – with Senior Commercial Economist Xander Snyder in the fourth episode of The REconomy Podcast Summer School series.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi continue the REconomy “Summer School” series, discussing what makes real estate “commercial” with Senior Economist Xander Snyder.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi continue the REconomy “Summer School” series, breaking down the fundamental drivers and benefits of homeownership and explaining how these dynamics are playing out in today's housing market.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi kick of the REconomy “Summer School” series with a deep dive into the residential home-buying and closing process, explaining the steps and the key players involved – from mortgage pre-approval to contract negotiation to title, settlement and the closing.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi break down what's happening with inflation, explaining why it has proven to be stickier than most expected, the importance shelter inflation plays in overall inflation, and how inflation may trend in the months ahead.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi go myth busting with Senior Commercial Real Estate Economist Xander Snyder, debunking three prevalent economic and real estate myths making headlines recently – stagflation risk, a pending housing market crash, and the commercial real estate doom loop.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss current trends in commercial real estate transaction levels and whether they may have bottomed with Senior Commercial Real Estate Economist Xander Snyder.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss the chronic supply shortage and ongoing affordability crisis facing the U.S. housing market, and examine an overlooked potential solution to increasing the supply of affordable housing – manufactured housing.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discusses multifamily supply-and-demand dynamics and the outlook for apartment rents with Senior Commercial Real Estate Economist Xander Snyder.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi unveil their new Existing-Home Sales Outlook Report and break down what to expect from the existing-home market ahead of the 2024 spring home-buying season.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Senior Commercial Real Estate Economist Xander Snyder discuss the outlook for industrial properties and why industrial remains a relative bright spot in the broader commercial real estate market. 

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi dive into expectations for the 2024 spring home-buying season, discussing their outlook for sales, supply and price appreciation.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss the outlook for apartment rents, examining how and why rents are changing and where rents may decline, with Senior Commercial Real Estate Economist Xander Snyder.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi examine declining recession risk, the increasing likelihood of an economic ‘soft landing,' and the budding housing market recovery.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi break down their 2024 housing market forecast, explaining why the housing market may be poised for a rebound.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi gather the entire First American Economics team one more time to address your top questions, examining migration patterns, inflation, the rate lock-in effect, maturing office debt, recession risk and more.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi once again gather the entire First American Economics team to address your top questions, this time digging into house prices, office-to-multifamily conversions, demographic trends, inflation, and the impact of work-from-home on housing demand.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi gather the entire First American Economics team to tackle the some of the most frequently asked questions they receive on the housing market, multi-family rent dynamics, mortgage rates, demographic trends and more.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi dig into recently released Survey of Consumer Finance data with Economist Ksenia Potapov to explain why they're thankful for homeownership and its wealth-generating benefits.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss the outlook for one of the relative bright spots in the commercial real estate economy – industrial real estate – with Senior Commercial Real Estate Economist Xander Snyder.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi compare the dynamics of today's challenging housing market with the housing market crash of the mid-to-late 2000s and the housing market of the early 1980s.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi and Senior Commercial Real Estate Economist Xander Snyder discuss the dynamics fueling the dramatic increase in property insurance premiums and how soaring property insurance costs may impact residential and commercial real estate markets.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Economist Ksenia Potapov discuss how demographic forces can influence both home-buying demand and supply as millennials and Baby Boomers age into important phases of life that will impact the housing market.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi examine the timeless, yet extremely timely question – to be or not to be a homeowner?

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi examine why mortgage rates have drifted higher by breaking down the components of the spread between the average 30-year, fixed mortgage rate and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, explaining how each component is contributing to rising mortgage rates.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi examine how mortgage loan products are structured in other countries and compare them to the prevailing mortgage loan product in the U.S. – the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi share their new housing recession model that provides a data-driven definition of a housing recession, look back at the history of housing recessions, and discuss whether or not we're in a housing recession today.

In this episode of The REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Senior Commercial Real Estate Economist Xander Snyder discuss the commercial real estate market, explaining the dynamics that are fundamentally re-shaping the ‘business of space.'

In this episode of the REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss explain the history of homeownership in the U.S., the impact of homeownership on wealth creation, and current demographic-driven trends influencing homeownership and the housing market.  

In this episode of the REconomy Podcast™ from First American, Chief Economist Mark Fleming and Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi discuss the differences between the existing-home market and the new-home market, explaining why homebuilders have an advantage as they sell their homes in today's environment.