This morning we are dropping a special episode in your feed — the first of a four-part masterclass series presented by Zillow Home Loans. This series will feature Zillow experts who will offer insights and strategies you can use today to best navigate the challenging market.

Today’s episode is a conversation between Clayton and Orphe Divounguy, Ph.D., a senior economist for Zillow Home Loans and a member of Zillow’s Economic Research team. Orphe’s research focuses on housing and labor markets, and quantitative methods for policy evaluation.

Orphe and Clayton unpack the current dynamics that buyers and sellers are seeing, some of the common public misconceptions about rates, and how affordability challenges and other driving forces are impacting the average homebuyer. They also chat about creative alternatives to traditional financing — and how agents should be seeing these alternatives as an opportunity to better serve consumers.

Related to this episode:

• Home buyers see first signs of affordability relief in months | Zillow 
• Mortgage rates decline amid expectation of economic slowdown | HousingWire
• Buyers are in the game, but interest rates are keeping sellers on the bench | Zillow 
• Prospective home buyers spend about as much time researching new TVs as they do mortgage lenders | Zillow
• Affordability Calculator – How Much House Can I Afford? | Zillow
• A Trusted Lending Partner for Agents | Zillow Home Loans
• CriticalChoices AchievingHomeownership
• Connect with Orphe on LinkedIn
• HousingWire’s Youtube Channel

The Housing News podcast explores the most important topics happening in mortgage, real estate, and fintech. Each week a new mortgage or real estate executive joins the show to add perspective to the top stories crossing HousingWire’s news desk. Hosted by Clayton Collins and produced by the HW Media team.