Robert Van Order
Chief International Economist
Freddie Mac

Robert Van Order was appointed chief international economist in December 2001. In this position, Van Order will focus on issues of international finance that affect the corporation, as well as advising foreign organizations on the benefits of a secondary mortgage market.

Previously, Van Order served as Freddie Mac's chief economist since June 1987, and as Chief Economist, Van Order was one of the most frequently quoted observers of the national housing and economic scene.

A frequent guest on business TV news shows, Van Order is sought after for his views on Federal Reserve interest rate policy, housing economics and general economic conditions.

Each quarter Van Order and Chief Economist, Frank Nothaft, prepare an economic forecast that can be found in the News and Info section of freddiemac.com.

Prior to joining Freddie Mac, Van Order served as Director of the Housing Finance Analysis Division at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Visiting Professor of Real Estate at the Graduate School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles.

As an economist for HUD 1976 to 1985, Van Order served in the director position from 1982 to 1985. In addition to his position at UCLA where he designed a course for MBA candidates focusing exclusively on the secondary mortgage market, Van Order taught at Purdue University, University of Southern California, Queen's University in Canada, and the American University in Washington, D.C. He was also a Senior Research Associate at The Urban Institute of Washington, D.C. where he conducted international research projects aimed at analyzing mortgage markets in under-developed countries. Van Order also taught economics at Ohio State University.

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation established by Congress in 1970 to increase the availability of mortgage money in support of home ownership and rental housing. Over the years, Freddie Mac opened doors for one in six homebuyers in America.