Understanding today’s housing market takes more than numbers—it requires making sense of trends in a way clients can act on. That was a central theme in the latest episode of “REALTOR® News Change Agents” podcast, featuring two leading industry economists, the National Association of REALTORS®' Lawrence Yun and Realtor.com®'s Danielle Hale.
Hale, who previously spent nearly a decade at NAR, now leads research at Realtor.com®, where she combines listing data with consumer behavior insights to better understand market trends.
“At Realtor.com®, because of our longstanding relationship with NAR, we show all of the listings from agents for free on our site, and that enables us to draw a really large consumer audience,” Hale says. “We’ve got the listing data … and then we can also marry that with the consumer data that’s really powerful.”
That combination allows her team to track not only how homes are priced, but also how buyers are responding—and even where demand is coming from.
“If you’re in the D.C. market and you’re looking for an affordable place to move to, and you look at homes in Fort Wayne, we can see that you have that cross-market interest,” she says. “That’s really helpful for agents as they’re thinking about referral business and referral networks and even trying to think about where to market.”
Turning Complex Data Into Simple Stories
For Hale, data is only as valuable as the way it’s communicated.
“I really wanted to make sure that I was writing [articles in a way] that people could understand,” she says, recalling early feedback on her work. “It has to be something that they can understand and grasp quickly.”
That mindset is especially important for real estate professionals who often explain complex economic concepts to clients and potential buyers and sellers. Yun pointed to a common example: clients waiting for the Federal Reserve to cut rates.
“The Fed matters, but it doesn’t set [mortgage] rates,” Hale says.
Instead of overwhelming clients with information, Hale focuses on delivering one key insight. She asks herself: “What does this mean for a home buyer in the market? What does this mean for someone who’s renting and thinking about buying a house?”
Generational Trends and Market Realities
The conversation also explored findings from NAR’s 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report, including the continued dominance of baby boomers in the housing market.
With many boomers holding significant equity and little to no mortgage debt, they are less sensitive to current interest rates. Millennials, on the other hand, face a different set of challenges.
“They may be looking for more space, but they have that consideration of ‘How am I going to finance that additional space?’” Hale says.
Despite those differences, Hale emphasized a key takeaway: “Real estate is important to both generations.”
The discussion also touched on long-term wealth implications. According to Hale, timing matters when it comes to homeownership. “Households that buy a first home around age 30, instead of waiting until closer to 40, accumulate more equity by the time they get to midlife,” she says, noting that this can translate to “more than $100,000 of additional net worth.”
Tools to Navigate a Fragmented Market
To help simplify increasingly complex conditions, Realtor.com® launched the “Market Clock” earlier this month, a new tool designed to give a quick snapshot of market dynamics.
“The goal of the tool is really to make it easy to summarize what’s happening,” Hale says. “Sometimes you can have all of this information, but if you can’t pick out what it means … that’s not really useful.”
Yun noted that tools like this—and NAR’s own Realtors Property Resource® data platform—can help agents build one of the most important elements of their business: trust.
“Part of that trust I think comes from agents who are REALTORS® being able to explain economic data, housing market data and what's going on,” Yun says.
Knowledge as a Competitive Advantage
For agents looking to stay informed, Hale recommends keeping it simple and consistent.
“I do a weekly video update on YouTube. It’s just three minutes,” she says. “It’s a very quick way to get a recap on what’s happening in the housing market.”
Ultimately, both economists agree: In a fast-moving, fragmented market, knowledge isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.
“Knowledge is power; knowledge gains the trust,” Yun says.
