33: On the state of housing, with economist Ali Wolf

On the latest episode of Onward, Fundrise CEO Ben Miller is joined by Ali Wolf, Chief Economist at Zonda and one of the smartest people we know for analyzing and understanding housing and the economy. As we’re still in the early weeks of 2024, Ben and Ali’s conversation focuses on lessons learned from the past year, when a confluence of factors resulted in an economic period that still demands attention and deciphering: What happened to the recession that most economists believed was all but inevitable a year ago? Did we dodge that recession or just delay it? How do you tell the difference between a soft landing and an economic downturn that’s simply slowing? Is it possible to rely too much on history when trying to develop a forecast? Looking ahead, Ali shares her thoughts on which housing markets are most exciting going into the next twelve months (and which are likely to lose momentum). She also shares insights based on home builder surveys, leading to Ali’s forecast for what home pricing will look like through the rest of the year. And, importantly, when Ali’s spoken to builders, the two sentiments that have stood out have been both a sense of caution and a sense of optimism. As Ben says, that’s terrific news: Those emotions, together, tend to equal a balanced economy… and often what comes out of that balance is real, lasting growth.

All this and more, on the latest episode of Onward.

Have questions or feedback about this episode? Drop us a note at [email protected].

Onward is hosted by Ben Miller, co-founder and CEO of Fundrise, and Cardiff Garcia, co-founder of Bazaar Audio and host of the economics-focused podcast The New Bazaar (after spending many years as the co-creator and co-host of NPR's The Indicator podcast).

Podcast production by The Podcast Consultant. Music by Seaplane Armada.

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