NAHB Economics Group
The NAHB economics group is comprised of esteemed economists who are available to provide in-depth and insightful presentations to a variety of audiences, including trade associations, businesses and media outlets. Our detailed data analyses focus on current economic and housing market conditions, demographics, policy and other current forecasting topics. This team of experts has given numerous presentations in recent years to local and national audiences. To schedule a presentation for your group, please email your request to [email protected].
Robert D. Dietz, Ph.D., is the chief economist and senior vice president for economics and housing policy for NAHB, where his responsibilities include housing market analysis, economic forecasting and industry surveys, and housing policy research. Dr. Dietz has published academic research on the private and social benefits of homeownership, federal tax expenditure estimation, and other housing and tax issues in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Housing Research, the National Tax Journal and the NBER Working Paper series. He has testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy on housing and economic issues. Prior to joining NAHB in 2005, Dr. Dietz worked as an economist for the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, specializing in revenue estimation of legislative proposals involving housing, urban development, and other business tax issues. He is a native of Dayton, Ohio and holds a doctorate in economics from The Ohio State University.
Ashok Chaluvadi is a senior economist for NAHB where he is responsible for conducting and assisting with surveys, such as those measuring builder sentiment, finance issues and other related housing industry surveys. He also provides information on housing topics and related issues to NAHB members, staff, financial institutions, Wall Street companies and other individuals. He holds a master’s in economics from Ohio University.
Onnah Dereski is the manager of Economic Services at NAHB. Her responsibilities include providing data, communications, and administrative support to the Economics staff, as well as to NAHB members and HBAs. Prior to this role, Onnah worked for NAHB Member Services as a 20 Clubs facilitator. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business from Hope College in Holland, Mich., her home state.
Paul Emrath, Ph.D., is the vice president for survey and housing policy research for NAHB where his responsibilities include conducting statistical and economic research for NAHB and its local affiliates, as well as managing NAHB’s survey and housing policy departments. The survey department conducts the monthly survey that generates the widely cited NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, as well as special surveys such as the one used to break down construction costs in a new home. The housing policy research department conducts a broad range of policy-related research such as estimating the economic impact of home building and analyzing proposed government regulations changes for NAHB committees and councils. Since joining NAHB in 1992, Dr. Emrath has developed many of the statistical methods NAHB uses to analyze housing data, produced over 700 local impact of home building studies, and published more than 150 articles on a wide variety of housing related topics — twice winning National Investment Center awards for articles on 55+ housing. Prior to joining NAHB, he taught economic theory and statistics at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for four years. He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Jing Fu, Ph.D., is the director of forecasting and analysis at NAHB where she monitors developments in the economy to identify trends and issues related to the housing industry. She also assists in forecasting and analyzing the state and metropolitan area housing market, producing research and articles detailing sectors and the geography of the home building industry. Prior to joining NAHB, Dr. Fu worked at Thomson Reuters as a data specialist and has extensive knowledge and experience on quantitative research and large data set analysis. She holds a master’s and doctorate in economics from the University of Kansas.
Fan-Yu Kuo is a senior economist at NAHB where she conducts economic research related to macroeconomics and forecasting. She also assists in economic and housing data updates. Prior to joining NAHB, Kuo was a research assistant at the Academia Sinica. She holds a master’s in international economics and finance from Johns Hopkins University, as well as a master’s in international political economy from King’s College London.
Eric Lynch, CBE, is an economist in the survey research group for NAHB where he is responsible for conducting and assisting with surveys, including multifamily, remodeling, and other related housing topics. In addition, he provides data and information on housing topics related issues to NAHB members, staff, financial institutions, and other stakeholders. Prior to joining NAHB, he worked as a senior associate in the research and knowledge department at the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), gaining industry knowledge on the built environment and residential market. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science/economics and Spanish from Towson University and a master’s degree in applied economics from the University of Maryland. Eric is also a Certified Business Economist (CBE), the certification in business economics and data analytics developed by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE).
Catherine Koh is an economist at NAHB with the Forecasting and Analysis Department where she analyzes housing-related data and trends to produce industry forecasts and analysis. She has worked at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank prior to joining NAHB and focuses on economic and financial research. She has published an IMF Working Paper on migration as well as several IEO background papers. She holds a master’s in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University.
Rose Quint is the assistant vice president for survey research at NAHB where her responsibilities include planning and conducting industry surveys, specifically in the areas of builder sentiment, remodeling, housing affordability, and AD&C financing issues. She is also responsible for special research projects, such as studies on builders’ profitability, consumer preferences, construction costs and membership census. Quint holds a master’s degree in economics from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University.
Danushka Nanayakkara is the assistant vice president for forecasting and analysis at NAHB. She oversees the activities of the forecasting and analysis section of the economics group which includes developing and maintaining national, regional, long-term, and remodeling expenditures forecasts. Before being promoted to assistant vice president, she worked at NAHB as a senior economist. Prior to joining NAHB, Nanayakkara worked at J.D. Power as a senior economic analyst in the automotive industry. She holds a master’s in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University.
Natalia Siniavskaia, Ph.D., is the assistant vice president for housing policy research at NAHB. She leads a wide range of statistical and economic research on various home building regulation and housing policy topics, including construction labor and immigration, environmental and zoning regulation, housing affordability, and the economic impact of home building, among others. While working for NAHB, she developed a model for estimating housing’s contribution to Gross State Product. Before being promoted to assistant vice president, she worked at NAHB as housing policy economist and senior housing policy economist. Prior to joining NAHB in 2005, Dr. Siniavskaia was assistant professor of economics at the Coggin College of Business at the University of North Florida, and senior analyst at Corporate Executive Board. She holds a doctorate in economics from The Ohio State University.
Jesse Wade, CBE, is an economist and director of tax and trade policy analysis for NAHB. His work focuses on analysis of state and federal tax data, international trade, and building materials. He additionally focuses on local area analysis, such as the NAHB Home Building Geography Index (HBGI). Previously, Jesse served as an economist in the NAHB Forecasting and Analysis Department. Prior to NAHB, Jesse worked as a research associate at the Center for the Study of Services. He holds a master’s degree in applied economics from the University of Maryland and a CBE - Certified Business Economist (the certification in business economics and data analytics developed by the National Association for Business Economics).
Na Zhao, Ph.D., is a principal economist at NAHB where she is responsible for analyzing the local economic impact of home building and analyzing housing and industry data. She also conducts economic research on housing policies and monitors developments in government housing and real estate policies. She holds a master’s in consumer behavior and family economics, as well as both a master’s and doctorate in agricultural and applied economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Lay Bragg is the senior manager of digital content for marketing and digital strategy at NAHB. Her responsibilities include overseeing the content for Housing Economics PLUS, coordinating access for subscribers, customer assistance and database management. She also works with the International Builders’ Show™ (IBS) marketing team on the buildersshow.com site, as well as other marketing initiatives for various NAHB groups. Prior to joining NAHB, Bragg was the publications assistant and customer service representative for the Associated General Contractors of America.
