Zelman & Associates
Zelman & Associates, operating as Zelman, a Walker & Dunlop Company, is a New York-based housing research and investment banking firm. It is known for homebuilding, building products and housing-macro research built on proprietary surveys of industry executives.
Activity24M
RatingsPrice targetsKey figures
- Stocks covered
- 1812M
- Actions
- 2312M
- Ratings / Price targets
- 23 / 0
- Upgrades / Downgrades
- 13 / 8
- Initiations
- 1
- Buy-rated
- 39%of 18 rated
- On record
- Oct 2013 – Aug 2026
Overview
As of 2026 Zelman covers 52 stocks across nine housing subsectors, including homebuilding, building products, apartments, single-family rental, manufactured housing, mortgage finance and real estate services, and has published more than 10,000 reports.
Ivy Zelman, a Credit Suisse housing analyst known for calling the 2005 market peak, left the bank in 2007 and founded the firm with colleague Dennis McGill. It later added a housing-focused investment banking business alongside its research. Walker & Dunlop acquired a controlling interest in July 2021, and the business now operates as Zelman, a Walker & Dunlop Company.
Milestones
- 2007
Founded by Ivy Zelman and Dennis McGill
- 2021
Walker & Dunlop acquires controlling interest
- 2023
Adopts relative Outperform/Neutral/Underperform rating system
Firm facts
- Type
- Boutique
- Founded
- 2007
- Headquarters
- New York, United States
- Parent
- Walker & Dunlop, Inc.
- Listing
- NYSE: WD
- Co-founder and Executive Vice President
- Ivy Zelman
- Rating scale
- OutperformNeutralUnderperform12 months
- Also filed as
- Zelman · Zelman & Assoc · Zelman& Assoc
- Website
- zelmanassociates.com
Research philosophy
Unlike the majority of equity research analysts, my approach is to not rely on information and guidance from public management teams to inform our research views.
Co-founder Ivy Zelman said in 2021 that the firm surveys nearly 1,000 housing executives monthly or quarterly, and that the results underpin all its other research. In 2025 she said it back-tests survey samples for correlation with public companies before basing calls on them, and avoids extrapolating from single anecdotes or framing questions to steer respondents. Thematic work on demographics and housing cycles complements the surveys.
Rating methodology
In October 2023, Zelman replaced Buy, Hold and Sell with Outperform, Neutral and Underperform. The ratings compare expected 12-month total returns with those of other stocks the firm covers in the same sector.
Coverage12M
Sectors
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 NVR, Inc.NVR | Outperform | — |
 The Real Brokerage Inc.REAX | Outperform | — |
 Champion Homes, Inc.SKY | Outperform | — |
| AMAmerican Woodmark CorporationAMWD | Neutral | — |
 Builders FirstSource, Inc.BLDR | Neutral | — |
 M/I Homes, Inc.MHO | Neutral | — |
 Wayfair Inc.W | Outperform | — |
 AvalonBay Communities, Inc.AVB | Outperform | — |
 Beazer Homes USA, Inc.BZH | Neutral | — |
 Century Communities, Inc.CCS | Underperform | — |
Recent actions
| Date | Stock | Rating action | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7 | Beazer Homes USA, Inc.BZH | Upgrade | Neutral |
| Aug 7 | The Real Brokerage Inc.REAX | Upgrade | Outperform |
| Aug 6 | CVCavco Industries, Inc.CVCO | Downgrade | Outperform →Neutral |
| Aug 6 | Champion Homes, Inc.SKY | Upgrade | Neutral →Outperform |
| Aug 6 | COCompass, Inc.COMP | Downgrade | Outperform →Neutral |
| Jul 17 | FEFerguson plcFERG | Upgrade | Neutral →Outperform |
| Jul 7 | NVR, Inc.NVR | Upgrade | Neutral →Outperform |
| Jul 7 | M/I Homes, Inc.MHO | Downgrade | Outperform →Neutral |
| Jul 7 | MTMeritage Homes CorporationMTH | Downgrade | Outperform →Neutral |
| Jul 7 | DHD.R. Horton, Inc.DHI | Upgrade | Neutral →Outperform |
| Jul 7 | Century Communities, Inc.CCS | Downgrade | Neutral →Underperform |
| Jul 7 | NVR, Inc.NVR | Upgrade | Hold →Buy |