In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Robert Dietz, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Economics and Housing Policy for the National Association of Home Builders, to talk about the state of new home construction across the country. Robert shares NAHB’s forecast for mortgage rates, does the math on how many homes we need to build each year, and looks at which cities are doing new home construction well. He also discusses some optimistic trends for home construction and affordability.

About Robert Dietz

Dr. Robert Dietz is Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Economics and Housing Policy for the National Association of Home Builders, where his responsibilities include housing market analysis, economic forecasting and industry surveys, and housing policy research. He has published academic research on the benefits of homeownership, federal tax policy, and other housing issues, and has testified before Congress on real estate policy issues.   He is often cited on housing and economic issues in the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and other media sources. Prior to joining NAHB in 2005, Robert worked as an economist for the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, where he was the committee’s real estate expert. He is a native of Dayton, Ohio and earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the Ohio State University. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• What NAHB forecasts for mortgage rates, what he expects from the Fed and what that means for the economy and mortgage rates
• How to do the math on how many new homes we need to build each year
• Why new home builders are much more critical to housing in the US now than they’ve ever been
• When new home construction volume will get back to “normal” levels - How big national builders are different from small local builders in terms of impact for housing
• Which cities are doing new construction well/smart
• Why we’re underbuilding entry-level homes and why that looks to get worse
• Which exciting technologies are emerging for home building
• One way the Biden administration could instantly make home building more affordable
• Why he sees optimistic trends for home construction and affordability from policymakers around the country

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Connect with Robert on LinkedIn
• National Association of Home Builders
• 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.

Follow us on Twitter for more data analysis and insights:

• Altos on Twitter
• Mike on Twitter

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.