Realogy Chief Calls for Housing Summit

With house sales increasing around the country, business has been good for moving companies this summer. But Richard Smith, CEO of Realogy, which owns brokerages such as Coldwell Banker and Century 21, would like to see an accelerated housing market recovery. To achieve this, Smith recently called on President Barack Obama to host a real estate summit at the White House.

In a letter to the president, Smith said a summit should include mortgage brokers, realtors, homebuilders and other housing industry professionals who could provide “frontline” reports and suggestions about how to stimulate domestic real estate markets.

Smith singled out the current inventory of foreclosures as a roadblock to recovery, and he said efforts should concentrate on getting these distressed properties sold, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The National Association of Homebuilders and other groups of real estate professionals have called on the government to extend current limits on mortgages eligible to be secured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The groups warn that if the loan limits decrease as scheduled in October, fewer people will be able to obtain financing in expensive markets like New York City and Boston.

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