Economists are having a moment. Their ability to model likely future scenarios has always been important, but during a once-in-a-lifetime event like a global pandemic, they are invaluable. Understanding what businesses should expect next quarter, next year and in the next five years has never been more important — or more unclear.
That’s why we’ve invited Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, to give the economic forecast at our HousingWire Annual event on Oct. 8.
At Fannie Mae, Duncan is responsible for forecasts and analyses of the economy and the housing and mortgage markets. He also oversees strategic research regarding the potential impact of external factors on the housing industry — which this year include a global pandemic, nationwide stay-at-home orders, unlimited Fed bond-buying and the lowest interest rates on record. Duncan also leads the House Price Forecast Working Group reporting to the Finance Committee.
Under Duncan’s leadership, Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group (ESR) won the NABE Outlook Award, presented annually for the most accurate GDP and Treasury note yield forecasts, in both 2015 and 2016 – the first recipient in the award’s history to capture the honor two years in a row. In addition, ESR was awarded by Pulsenomics for best home price forecast.
Named one of Bloomberg/BusinessWeek’s 50 Most Powerful People in Real Estate, Duncan is Fannie Mae’s source for information and analyses on demographics and the external business and economic environment; the implications of changes in economic activity on the company’s strategy and execution; and for forecasting overall housing, economic, and mortgage market activity.
Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Duncan was senior vice president and chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association. His experience also includes work on the Financial Institutions Project at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and service as a LEGIS Fellow and staff member with the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs for Congressman Bill McCollum in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Duncan will be joined by other housing luminaries at HousingWire Annual, including Ed DeMarco, president of the Housing Policy Council, Cindy Waldron, vice president of research and analytics at Freddie Mac, Laurie Goodman, vice president of the Urban Institute, Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders, and many more.
We’re focusing this virtual event on The Great Acceleration — the disruption speeding through the business landscape, upending traditional strategies and agendas for those in housing. We’ve got sessions on the future of regulation, business strategy during times of social upheaval, increasing homeownership in underserved communities, green housing, capital market appetite by channel and much more.
HW+ members can attend for free by registering here. Not an HW+ member yet? You can sign up for free attendance plus get the amazing premium content we publish digitally and in the print magazine. Regular registration can be accessed here.
