TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Dr. David W. Berson, vice president and chief economist for Fannie Mae, has some good news for the housing industry.

“Housing and mortgage markets should set new records and will be stronger this decade than the last, when they were very good.”

Berson will be one of the speakers at the Alabama Real Estate Conference scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 23 in Sellers Auditorium of the Bryant Conference Center at The University of Alabama. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Berson said that his outlook is based on demographics and economics.

Fannie Mae was organized in 1968 and since that time has made it possible for 30 million low, moderate, and middle-income families to buy homes of their own.

Before joining Fannie Mae, Berson was senior economist at the U.S. League of Savings Institutions, chief financial economist at Wharton Econometrics, visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and assistant professor of economics at Claremont McKenna College and Claremont Graduate School.

Those interested in attending the conference can obtain a registration form by calling the Alabama Real Estate Research and Education Center (AREREC) at 205/348-4117. Registration forms can also be downloaded from the Center's web site at http://arerec.cba.ua.edu/.

Cost for the conference is $65 per person for general registration and $30 for leadership council affiliate registration, which includes lunch.

The Alabama Real Estate Research and Education Center is part of the University of Alabama's Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, founded in 1919. The business school has been recognized repeatedly for offering high-quality, cost-effective education.