Does America actually have a housing shortage, or has the real estate industry been looking at the wrong numbers? In this episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, James Dwiggins and Keith Robinson sit down with Ryan McKeveny, Managing Director at Zelman & Associates, to examine the data behind the supposed housing shortage and what changing demographics could mean for the future of real estate. Ryan makes a provocative argument: while conventional wisdom says America faces a historic housing shortage, Zelman's research suggests the overall housing market is roughly balanced, with a modest undersupply of single-family homes and a modest oversupply of multifamily housing. They discuss: Why Zelman challenges the severe housing shortage narrative How declining births and an aging population change future housing demand Why immigration will become critical to U.S. population growth How nearly 20% of new resale listings are connected to a death Why agents may need to gain market share instead of waiting for a recovery Ryan also explains why affordability remains a major problem even without a massive housing shortage. Mortgage rates, home prices, wage growth, and the lock-in effect continue to constrain transactions and there's no guarantee the market will suddenly bail agents out. For real estate professionals, the takeaway is simple: understand where the population and housing market are actually heading, identify opportunities inside your sphere, and build a business capable of winning even if today's market doesn't dramatically improve. Links mentioned during the episode: Zelman Insights: https://www.zelmanassociates.com/resources/zelman-insights Zelman Housing Summit, September 17-18, InterContinental Boston Register for the Housing Summit: https://events.zelmanassociates.com/2026housingsummit/begin Registrant Type: New Registrant Save $300 off of Registration with Discount Code: PODCAST300 Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-mckeveny-cfa-354aa7b8/ Subscribe to Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered?sub_confirmation=1 To learn more about becoming a sponsor of the show send us an email: jessica@inman.com You asked for it. We delivered. Check out our new merch! https://merch.realestateinsidersunfiltered.com/ Follow Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered Podcast on Instagram - YouTube - Facebook - TikTok. Visit us online at realestateinsidersunfiltered.com. Link to Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered Link to Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/realestateinsiderspod/ Link to YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered Link to TikTok Page: https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateinsiderspod Link to website: https://realestateinsidersunfiltered.com This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative. https://twobrotherscreative.com/contact/ The views and opinions expressed on Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered are those of the hosts and guests in their personal capacities and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of AGNT, Inc., eXp Realty, LLC, NextHome, Inc., or any of their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, or directors. Chapter Markers: 00:00 – Is the Housing Market Actually Balanced? 01:45 – Meet Ryan McKeveny of Zelman & Associates 05:18 – What Zelman Actually Studies 10:09 – Learning to Separate Signal From Noise 14:19 – Why Real Estate Is Too Siloed 15:59 – The Demographic Data Changing Housing 17:57 – Is There Really a Housing Shortage? 20:15 – Why the Supply Narrative May Be Wrong 22:47 – Immigration and Future Population Growth 24:21 – Can Robotics Make Housing Cheaper? 27:12 – Immigration Policy and Construction Costs 28:31 – What Demographics Mean for Agents 30:58 – Nearly 20% of Listings Are Connected to Deaths 33:32 – The Next Generation of Homebuyers 35:05 – The Reality of Today's Housing Market 39:14 – The K-Shaped Housing Economy 41:06 – Stop Waiting for the Market to Improve 43:49 – What Would Actually Fix Affordability? 47:14 – What Agents Should Do Right Now