GENERAL SESSION: Housing Market and Policy Trends

Laura Escobar

2024 MBA Chair-Elect; President, Lennar Mortgage

Laura Escobar is the 2024 MBA Chair-Elect and President of Lennar Mortgage. A 30-year mortgage industry veteran, Escobar has held leadership positions with both bank-owned and independent mortgage companies overseeing all aspects of mortgage banking, including production, operations, compliance, accounting, and training. Her personal ground level experience in every facet of mortgage lending has enabled her to manage and fully integrate all of these departments within Lennar Mortgage. Escobar is highly engaged in the industry, serves on MBA’s Board of Directors, and was co-chair of MBA’s IMB Executive Council from 2020–2022. She is also a director of the MBA Opens Doors Foundation, which she has supported by successfully fundraising for the foundation’s work and leading Lennar in company campaigns. Beyond her industry work, she is also a licensed mental health counselor and devotes much of her time to working with underprivileged women.

Owen V. Lee

MORPAC Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Success Mortgage Partners, Inc.

Owen Lee is the Chief Executive Officer of Success Mortgage Partners, Inc. (“SMP”). SMP is an independent mortgage bank headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan and operating in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Owen originally founded the company in 2002 with his father, Vincent. Owen is also the Managing Member of Title Partners, LLC., a full-service title insurance agency and settlement services company. Owen graduated with a BA in Political Science from Villanova University in 1992 and a Juris Doctorate from Michigan State University in 1996. wen is a proud member of the following organizations: State Bar of Michigan; Massachusetts Bar Association; Mortgage Bankers Association; Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association; The American Land Title Association.

Susan M. Wachter

Professor of Real Estate and Finance, University of Pennsylvania

Susan Wachter is Sussman Professor and Professor of Real Estate and Finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. From 1998 to 2001, she served as Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the senior urban policy official and Principal Advisor to the Secretary. During her tenure at HUD, Wachter’s office was responsible for the New Markets Tax Credit, the major legislative initiative for urban revitalization, with the goal of attracting private capital into low-income communities. At The Wharton School, she was Chairperson of the Real Estate Department and Professor of Real Estate and Finance from July 1997 until her 1998 appointment to HUD. At Penn, she co-founded and currently is Co-Director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research. She also founded and currently serves as Director of Wharton’s Geographical Information Systems Lab. She was the editor of Real Estate Economics from 1997 to 1999 and currently serves on the editorial boards of several real estate journals. Wachter is the author of more than 200 scholarly publications and the recipient of several awards for teaching excellence at The Wharton School and recipient of the Quigley Medal in 2022 for contributions to the real estate field. Her edited volume, Fair Housing, was published by Penn Press in 2021. Previous volumes include Shared Prosperity in America’s Communities and Neighborhoods and Life Chances. Wachter has served on multiple for-profit and not-for-profit boards, including the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee of Fannie Mae and the Office of Financial Research Advisory Committee of the U.S. Treasury and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce. She frequently comments on national media and testifies to Congress on U.S. housing policy.