 | Daily Real Estate News | May 11, 2009 |
Top Minds in Real Estate Unite for NAR Summit
The best and brightest minds across a spectrum of fields will gather here Tuesday to shine light on how real estate can lead the country out of the present economic downturn, as the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORSŪ begins its annual REALTORSŪ Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo.
An all-day event, “The Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy,” kicks off the weeklong NAR meetings that run May 11 through May 16. Government officials, academics, business leaders, economists, media, and industry experts will participate in the summit.
“NAR, as the leading advocate for homeownership and private property issues, is excited about presenting this dynamic, forward-looking summit, and we hope the distinguished guests will help us come to grips with the real estate challenges facing us all,” says Charles McMillan, president of NAR and a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “We expect to hear some great ideas and some innovative insights.”
Among the keynote speakers: Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Board Chairman, head up the summit’s all-star cast of speakers.
Also on the docket are Sheila Bair, director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.; conservative commentator Pat Buchanan; former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn.; and U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee.
The opening Legislative and Regulatory Forum session features Buchanan and Ford, followed by a morning panel, “Reshaping Real Estate to Sustain Communities,” moderated by Ron Insana, senior analyst and commentator, CNBC. The panel features noted economist Martin Feldstein, Harvard University; Barry Bluestone, dean, Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University; Susan Wachter, professor of real estate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; and Eric Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University.
The afternoon panel, moderated by Jane Bryant Quinn, contributing editor, Newsweek, will discuss “Financing Real Estate for Tomorrow.” Included among the distinguished panelists are Conrad Egan, president and CEO, National Housing Conference; Michael Calhoun, president, Center for Responsible Lending; Phil Bracken, executive vice president, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage; and Allan Meltzer, professor of political economy, Carnegie Mellon University.
During the rest of the week, more than 8,500 REALTORSŪ will attend meetings, visit lawmakers, and inspire action on Capitol Hill, where they'll be actively engaging policymakers to help move the real estate market forward. Top priorities include: reiterating the value of the mortgage interest deduction, ensuring affordable insurance through small-business health plans, proposing energy efficiency legislation, and stabilizing and providing liquidity to commercial real estate markets.
In addition, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun will share new research related to the jumbo loan market and discuss market challenges, short-term options and long-term solutions.
For more information about the 2009 Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, visit www.realtor.org/midyear.nsf/pages/homepage.
Source: NAR
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