Rachel Siegel

Washington, D.C.

Economy of real estate and housing

Education: Yale University, BA in History

Rachel Siegel covers the economics of real estate and housing. She previously covered the Federal Reserve. She has also covered breaking news for The Post's financial section and local politics for The Post's Metro desk. Before joining the Post in June 2017, Rachel contributed to The Marshall Project and The Dallas Morning News.
Latest from Rachel Siegel

Nobel economics prize awarded for studies of prosperity gaps between countries

Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson examined how different kinds of European colonization led to some nations being rich and others poor.

October 14, 2024
From left, Jakob Svensson, Hans Ellegren and Jan Teorell of the Nobel Assembly sit in front of a screen displaying the 2024 economics prize laureates.

Kamala Harris says America needs more homes. Here’s why that’s different.

Harris’s approach to affordable housing has inched closer and closer to what’s known as “YIMBYism,” shorthand for “Yes In My Backyard.”

October 8, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to supporters in Raleigh, N.C., on Aug. 16, 2024. (Cornell Watson for The Washington Post)

Vance says immigrants caused a housing shortage. Economists disagree.

The housing market has been upended since the pandemic, but not because of migration.

October 2, 2024
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) speaks during the vice-presidential debate Tuesday night in New York.

Mortgage rates are coming down — and home buyers are ready to pounce

Homebuyers are rushing to take advantage of lower mortgage rates following the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cut.

September 19, 2024
A house is sold in 2021 in Mt. Lebanon, Pa.

Fed cuts interest rates by half a point, marking first trim since 2020

A more aggressive interest rate cut would suggest deeper worries that the job market is buckling under the Fed’s continued fight against inflation.

September 18, 2024
Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington on Sept. 18.

Rent, utilities rose faster than home values for first time in a decade

New data from the 2023 American Community Survey also showed that nearly half of renter households spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs.

September 12, 2024
A “for rent” sign in Las Vegas on April 10.

Inflation drops to lowest level since Feb. 2021 as Fed plans rate cut

With inflation cooling and worries about the job market spreading, the central bank is expected to announce a long-awaited rate cut next week.

September 11, 2024
People shop at a Walmart store in Secaucus, N.J., on July 11.

Atlanta Fed president violated trading rules, inspector general finds

The report on Raphael Bostic marked the latest revelation in a series of trading issues to rock the institution.

September 11, 2024
Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic in 2019.

Employers added 142,000 jobs in August, as labor market cools

This particular August jobs report is among the most closely watched snap shots of the labor market since the coronavirus pandemic.

September 6, 2024
An employment opportunity sign at a Zara location in Alexandria, Va., on Aug. 22.

Technical error caused jobs data delay that sparked outrage, BLS says

The jobs revision delay is just the latest in a series of mishaps that Wall Street and Washington critics say threaten to undermine faith in the agency.

August 28, 2024
Stock prices are seen through a window at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York on August 14.