Even in the AI boom, digital real estate companies like Opendoor (OPEN) and Better Home (BETR) remain hot names.

“You want to understand these names,” Robinhood Markets chief investment officer Stephanie Guild said on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid. “They’re not going to go away.”

Although Opendoor stock fell over 10% during Tuesday’s trading, the stock is up a whopping 367% year to date and over 268% in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, Better Home’s stock jumped 30% Tuesday. Shares have catapulted over 630% year to date and over 237% in the past 12 months.

The broader market has been choppy this year, with volatility still below long-term averages even as indexes like the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq (^IXIC) climb to new highs.

Within that environment, digital real estate companies have experienced a particularly uneven performance, reflecting both the high cost of mortgages and investor speculation.

The real estate and housing market “has been a really rough place,” Guild said, adding that mortgage rates have been near multiyear highs for a prolonged period.

Today, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is around 6.36%, followed by a 20-year at 5.81%, and a 10-year at 5.79%.

Read more: The best mortgage lenders right now

Even so, mortgage rates are slowly easing — a shift that could reignite activity in the housing market. Guild noted that many homeowners with historically low rates are “frozen” in place, limiting supply and mobility.

That could start to “thaw,” especially with additional Federal Reserve rate cuts expected this year, Guild noted, adding that companies like Opendoor and Better Home could be at an advantage.

“If interest rates are truly starting to fall, if mortgage rates can truly start to fall, then these are companies that should benefit from increased activity,” she said. “You want to understand the companies, the management, [and] what they’re doing to take advantage of the drop in rates.”

Still, she warned that investors should “be cautious” just because “stock prices are up a lot.”

Others on Wall Street are optimistic about the future of the digital real estate companies. EMJ Capital founder Eric Jackson has been an aggressive and vocal bull on these two stocks, and his public support — including on social media — has directly contributed to their recent dramatic rallies. He recently described Better Home as the “Shopify of mortgages.”

Guild noted that investors will need to weigh potential upside from lower rates against elevated valuations that have driven shares higher in recent months. She argued that despite ongoing losses, these firms remain relevant, even if fundamental financial gains have yet to materialize.