September 11) -- WASHINGTON -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development should retain oversight over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's housing-related missions and programs while oversight of the companies' financial soundness should be transferred to the Treasury Department, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORSŪ urged Congress today.

In a letter to Chairman Mike Oxley, R-Ohio, of the House Financial Services Committee, NAR President Cathy Whatley said that reform of the regulation of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) provides an opportunity to reaffirm the companies' housing mission as well as their safety and soundness. "Safety and soundness regulation is appropriately lodged at the Treasury Department because of its financial expertise. REALTORSŪ support this move because it sends a clear message to housing finance and investor markets. But while safety and soundness regulation is enhanced, REALTORSŪ strongly believe that the housing mission should be heightened as well. We believe that HUD should continue to speak for housing policy programs and the GSEs' critical role supporting homeownership," Whatley wrote Chairman Oxley.

"The administration proposal to place GSE regulatory oversight approval under the Treasury Department is a major departure from the perspective of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORSŪ. Housing policy has not been the purview or expertise of the Treasury Department; rather HUD has been central to housing issues, policy, and programs. We expect that Congress will act judiciously to assure a critical role for HUD in GSE mission, program development, and review. We look forward to reviewing the proposed legislation with an eye to assuring that housing not lose its prominence in the GSE safety and soundness reform debate," wrote Whatley, a partner in Buck & Buck, Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla.