Looking to buy a home? Redfin's research lead says a flood of housing supply is set to hit the market by the end of 2025 as locked-in homeowners finally start selling.

• Mortgage rates will start dropping by the end of this year, according to Redfin's Chen Zhao.
• Prospective homebuyers will see a flood of supply by 2025 as the current lock-in effect goes away.
• Zhao is the head of economic research at Redfin.

Prospective homebuyers are painfully aware of just how bad the housing market is right now.

Mortgage rates have doubled since 2022 following the Federal Reserve's initiative to raise rates and curb inflation. Beyond pushing monthly payments up, consistently high mortgage rates have created a so-called lock-in effect, where existing homeowners are unwilling to sell their homes and give up the lower rates they secured earlier.