Key Takeaways: This is the first time in over 40 years that mortgage rates – after controlling for inflation – have been negative. Inflation is 9.1%, nearly twice as high as 5.5% mortgage rates, the gap has never been this high before. While now remains the least affordable time to buy a home in the…
Mischa Fisher, Chief Economist
Mischa Fisher is the Chief Economist for Angi Inc., including brands Angi (formerly Angie's List) and HomeAdvisor, powered by Angi. In this role, he leads market research including consumer spending behavior, labor market dynamics and residential housing trends.
Prior to joining Angi, Fisher was Chief Economist and economic policy advisor to the Governor of Illinois, where he oversaw the state agencies responsible for economic development, employment security, housing, and professional licensing. Previously, he was a Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and a Legislative Director for the United States Congress in Washington D.C, focusing on financial markets, infrastructure, and technology policy.
Fisher's research and insights have appeared in a wide range of popular and industry press including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Meet the Press, US News, Fox, and Forbes, among others. He has also spoken as an expert for elite institutions including the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the National Governors Association, Harvard University, and various industry specific organizations.
Fisher is an instructor in applied quantitative methods and statistics at Northwestern University, and a member of the American Economic Association and the National Association for Business Economics. He completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.
Recent Posts:
What’s Next for Inflation? 4 Things Skilled Trades Pros Need to Know
Key Takeaways: Inflation varies a lot depending on the product, even with the same category of projects. For example, since the onset of the pandemic asphalt shingle prices have increased 8%, while sheet metal roofing prices have increased 48%. Inflation for construction materials has already begun declining, dropping from 35% in January to 16% in…
Update: Now Continues to be the Least Affordable Time to Buy a Home in Recent History
As interest rates for mortgages continue to rise, so does the comparative advantage of staying in place and remodeling vs. buying a new home. Key Takeaways: Controlling for hourly wage rates, a new home is less affordable than at any time in the last 30 years, with a payoff time not seen since the spring…
Residential Trades Employment and Wages are Both Up Despite Shrinking GDP
Key Takeaways Even though real GDP contracted in the first quarter triggering recession fears, residential specialty trades contractor employment stayed even month over month and is 5% higher than before the pandemic. Trades wages are now up over 9% since the start of the pandemic to an average of nearly $35 an hour Total wages…
Now Is the Worst Time to Buy a Home in the Last 15 Years
Key Takeaways 30-year mortgage rates rose to 5.11% for the first time in over a decade The combined cost of a home – base price and mortgage rate – has produced the highest lifetime cost on record, approximately $818,000, while year-over-year rent inflation is at the highest it’s been since 2007. In the debate over…
The Reason Why Sustainable Housing Must Be Led by Renovators and Remodelers
Key Takeaways: There are 143 million existing housing units in the country, while the production rate of new homes is only 1.3 million homes per year. If all the productive capacity of new home building was focused on replacing the existing housing stock, it would take over a century to replace everything with modern building…
20% Growth in 2021 Home Service Spending as Americans Adjust to a New Normal
Angi’s 2021 State of Home Spending Report finds 20% year-over-year growth in home services spending. This week we released our annual report examining the behavior of households spending on home improvement, maintenance and repair projects. This report is a deep dive into the home spending boom we’ve continued to witness since the start of the…
The Skilled Trades in America: How the Great Resignation Could Provide Great Opportunity for the Skilled Trades
Today we launched the second annual edition of our flagship report The Skilled Trades in America. This original research provides a deep dive into the trade labor shortage, job satisfaction in the skilled trades, the impact of COVID-19 on supply chain disruptions, hiring and recruitment, and more. The context and timing of this report could…
A Lesson from the July Jobs Report: Consider a Career in the Trades
Where does the economy stand with Covid-19 Delta variant cases spiking, inflation higher than expected, and the housing and home services markets continuing to boom? If July’s labor market report is any indication, the recovery is continuing at a healthy pace with nearly a million new payrolls created in July (although impact from the Delta…
The Home Services Market Just Grew 17% Year Over Year
Over the last year, construction and remodeling prices increased, the shortage of skilled labor remained and consumers pivoted their spending to the home. But what did the unexpected impact of COVID-19 have on the overall size of the home services market? Our latest research, summarized in the Economy of Everything Home Report, answers that question:…
Press & Media Inquiries
Angi Economics