David Stevens

Stevens brings a wealth of private-sector housing experience to the crucial post of FHA commissioner. Now more than ever, the FHA is the fulcrum on which the single-family and multifamily mortgage industry rests; any missteps on the part of its commissioner could upset housing's fragile recovery. If confirmed, Stevens will be one of the few FHA commissioners in the agency's history from a business background. Most recently the president of the Virginia-based real estate firm Long & Foster, Stevens has a reputation as a creative thinker--particularly with respect to expanding affordable housing in the single-family arena for low-income people and minorities, said Steven Nesmith, who served at HUD during the previous administration and has crossed paths with Stevens. Observers say that Stevens has the right resume, managerial skills, and industry connections to lead a reinvigorated FHA beyond the current mortgage crisis. Stevens, 52, worked at Freddie Mac and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage before heading to Long & Foster in 2006. Long & Foster is embroiled in several lawsuits that accuse it of breaking federal anti-kickback laws, an issue that has held up Stevens's confirmation. Stevens, a University of Colorado grad, grew up in Connecticut.

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