Chen Zhao

Chen Zhao is the head of economics research, where she produces research on the housing market for public and internal audiences.

Previously, she was an executive director leading housing finance and financial markets research at the JPMorgan Chase Institute. Prior to joining JPMCI, Chen was an economics consultant at Analysis Group, Inc., where she worked on financial litigation cases and led teams conducting health economics and outcomes research on behalf of pharmaceutical companies.

While in graduate school, Chen was with the Center for Economic Studies and the Social Economic and Housing Statistics Division at the US Census Bureau, where she conducted applied microeconomics research using large scale restricted-access linked survey-administrative data. She started her career at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where she focused on labor and health economics.

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Most Recent

Redfin Economists’ Weekly Take: Iran War Drives Rate Volatility

March 23, 2026

This Week In A Nutshell: The Iran War continues to fuel market volatility as it enters its fourth week, particularly as the White House signals

Escalating Iran War, Rising Oil Prices, Fed Uncertainty Push Mortgage Rates to 6-Month High

March 20, 2026

The daily average mortgage rate rose to a six-month high of 6.53% on March 20. Mortgage rates are jumping because the Iran war is escalating,

Mortgage Rates Could Nudge Slightly Higher As Fed Holds Rates Steady, Flags Inflation Risk

March 18, 2026

The Fed left interest rates unchanged at its March 18 meeting, as expected, amid the backdrop of the Iran war, which is contributing to a

Redfin Economists’ Weekly Take: Rates Will Jump Around As Markets Weigh Iran War and Fed Outlook

March 16, 2026

This Week In A Nutshell: We’re expecting rates to continue bouncing around this week, as the Middle East conflict continues into its third week with

Mortgage Rates Jump to Six-Month High as Inflation Fears, Iran War Rattle Markets

March 13, 2026

Today’s rate increase is due almost entirely to inflation jitters. The daily average mortgage rate jumped to a six-month high of 6.41% on March 13,

Inflation Cooled in February, but Markets Are Looking Past It as Iran War Clouds Outlook

March 11, 2026

Takeaway: The February CPI report showed inflation cooling, as expected. But the report will largely be ignored by markets because the data predates the war