The Housing Market’s Hidden Demand: Shadow Homeowners, the Silver Glacier & What Comes Next with Odeta Kushi of First American

The housing market may feel stuck, but beneath the surface, powerful demographic and economic forces are setting the stage for its next chapter. In this Hot Topic, David Lykken sits down with Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American Financial Corporation, to unpack what the data is really telling us about housing affordability, inventory, mortgage rates, and regional market differences. Odeta explains why the U.S. still faces a long-term housing shortage despite rising inventory in markets like Texas and Florida, how a “silver glacier” of aging Baby Boomers could gradually reshape housing supply, and why a growing population of “shadow homeowners”—younger adults with the jobs and incomes to buy but who have yet to leave the family home—could represent significant pent-up demand. For mortgage leaders trying to determine where opportunity will emerge next, this conversation offers a data-driven look beyond the headlines at the forces that could shape housing and mortgage demand for years to come.