Realogy Corporation, a leading provider of real estate and relocation services, announced that Richard A. Smith, its president and CEO, has been called upon to testify before the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. In his remarks, Smith will address the current state of the nation’s housing market.
Chaired by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the Subcommittee hearing is entitled “New Ideas for Refinancing and Restructuring Mortgage Loans” and is scheduled for Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. EDT in the Senate Banking Committee Hearing Room of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing will be broadcast live through the Senate Banking Committee’s website, and Smith’s written testimony will be posted online as part of the hearing record. Additional witnesses scheduled for this hearing include, among others, Davi d H. Stevens, president and CEO, Mortgage Bankers Association, and Ivy Zelman, chief executive officer of Zelman and Associates.
“I am honored to have this opportunity to address the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development on the important issues facing our country in the housing market,” says Realogy CEO Richard A. Smith.
“Given the housing sector’s substantial influence on all aspects of the U.S. economy, we would like to see a more cohesive national plan to address a recovery in the housing market. Current government policies and programs may be well intentioned, but they are suppressing a recovery, the Dodd-Frank Act as an example. The end result is an environment that has constrained everyone from homebuyers and sellers to lenders and mortgage servicers alike. Unfortunately, there are no silver bullets. We believe the immediate issues that must be addressed are high unemployment, the persistent overhang of foreclosed properties, low consumer confidence and failed government intervention programs.”
Smith is a member of the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with nearly $6 trillion in annual revenues and more than 12 million employees. He also is a member of the Policy Advisory Board for the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
For more information visit http://www.realogy.com/.
