The David Lin Report Redfin’s Chief Economist: This Is the First ‘Real’ Buyer’s Market Since 2008 | Daryl Fairweather
Feb 10, 2026
Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist who analyzes U.S. housing, mortgage rates, and affordability. She explains why mortgage rates created the first real buyer’s market since 2008. She discusses where price corrections are happening, why supply is so tight, how builders and homeowners react differently, and what policies could improve affordability.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
First Real Buyer’s Market Since 2008
- The US is experiencing its first real buyer's market since 2008 driven by high mortgage rates, not a foreclosure recession.
- Sellers remain slow to accept lower prices because they anchor to pandemic peak values.
Rates Likely Stay Near 6.3% Absent Lower Inflation
- Redfin expected 30-year mortgage rates to average about 6.3% for the year and to remain relatively stable.
- Rates will need sustained lower inflation before meaningful declines occur.
Refinance Lock-In Restricts Supply
- Many homeowners hold pandemic-era low mortgages below 4%, so they avoid selling now due to replacement-cost pain.
- That lock-in restricts supply and keeps prices from falling despite lower demand.
