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

Mortgage Rates to Tick Up After Fed Signals That December Cut Isn’t Guaranteed

October 29, 2025

Mortgage rates will tick up after Fed Chair Powell sent a strong signal that a December rate cut—that markets have already priced in—is far from

Redfin Economists’ Weekly Take: Mortgage Rates Stable Ahead of Expected Fed Cut

October 27, 2025

This Week In A Nutshell Rates are steady heading into the week following a cool inflation report last Friday, but they could rise even if

Cool Inflation Data Gives Fed a Green Light to Keep Cutting Rates

October 24, 2025

Mortgage rates will stay near recent lows as cooler-than-expected inflation data allows the Fed to keep cutting. Core inflation, the key metric that excludes food

Redfin Economists’ Weekly Take: Inflation Report Unlikely to Stop Fed From Cutting Rates Next Week

October 20, 2025

Last Week In A Nutshell Geopolitical tensions and regional bank worries brought rates down last week as investors piled into the safety of Treasuries from

Redfin Economists’ Weekly Take: China Trade Tensions Push Mortgage Rates Lower

October 14, 2025

Last Week In A Nutshell Rates ended the week about 10 bps lower following renewed trade tensions with China. Upcoming Attractions This is a light

Redfin Economists’ Weekly Take: All Eyes on Fed Speeches as Markets Continue to Fly Data-Blind

October 6, 2025

Last Week In A Nutshell Rates eased due to a surprisingly negative ADP jobs report, which stayed in the spotlight as the government shutdown sidelined