Insider Q&A: Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Soaring mortgage rates knocked the housing market into a deep slump in 2022, and the prospects of a swift turnaround in 2023 look dim, especially with the average rate on the benchmark 30-year mortgage still hovering above 6%, or double what it was this time last year.

Shares in Redfin, which boasts it runs the No. 1 real estate brokerage site in the U.S., have lost about 90% of their value since hitting a high in early 2021. CEO Glenn Kelman recently spoke to The Associated Press about why he expects 2023 to be another slow year for housing. The Seattle native who’s run Redfin since 2005 also discussed the layoffs and other steps Redfin took last year and why many first-time homebuyers will struggle to find an affordable home for years to come.

Q: Was the housing slowdown last year avoidable? And is it healthy in the long-term, given how crazy it got in recent years?

A: It was unavoidable and absolutely salutary. Home prices were becoming completely out of sight for most American families, and this country has a divided attitude about that. I know we view it as a calamity when prices collapse, and obviously I wish that the process could be more gradual, but nonetheless, it’s necessary because there’s just no other way that millennials are going to be able to buy into the American dream.

Q: How do you see the housing market faring in 2023 after its downturn last year?

A: 2023 will be a standoff between buyers and sellers. Inventory hasn’t really increased. It’s up from historic lows in 2020, but only barely. People who got a 3% mortgage, either when they bought their home or when they refinanced it, aren’t going to give that up easily. Many customers we’re talking to about selling their homes decide to hold onto their house and rent it out instead...