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International Housing Conference Set for Mexico City
An immediate result of the alliance will be joint NAHB-CANADEVI participation and promotion efforts for the 2nd International Housing Conference of the Americas, scheduled for Nov. 7-10 at the Four Seasons hotel in Mexico City. This conference is geared to meeting the needs of American and Mexican builders who want to learn how each other’s housing markets work and what it takes to get involved in them.
The U.S. Commerce Department provided a $398,000 seed grant to NAHB last year to support such endeavors through the association’s Access Mexico project.
On hand for the signing ceremony in June were the top housing officials of both countries, including HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson and Comisión Nacional de Fomento a la Vivienda (CONAFOVI) Commissioner Carlos Gutiérrez. Also attending were U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Economic Secretary Fernando Canales for Mexico.
Both the United States and Mexico have substantial demand for affordable, workforce housing in high-growth areas. In addition, both governments have established ambitious housing goals that the newly signed agreement could help achieve.
At his inauguration, President Vicente Fox established housing as a national priority in Mexico and promised to ramp up production of new homes across the board. Meanwhile, President Bush has established the goal of increasing U.S. minority homeownership by 5.5 million families this decade, an effort that would generate $256 billion for the domestic economy.
“Looking to build more than one million new homes annually for low- and moderate-income households over the next three years and with an anticipated annual growth rate of 4.5% in housing production, Mexico is a great place for NAHB members to explore their opportunities for bringing goods and services to the international forum,” said Rayburn. “On the flip side of the coin, our colleagues from south of the border will have a chance to tap into the booming U.S. housing marketplace and all it has to offer. Any way you cut it, it’s a win-win situation.”
NAHB’s “Access Mexico” project is aimed at promoting a bilateral forum to enhance trade, exchange information and share technologies between the U.S. and Mexican housing industries. To find out more about the Access Mexico initiative, click here.
This fall’s housing conference in Mexico City will feature educational panels, housing tours, exhibits, networking opportunities and presentations by industry leaders and government officials. NAHB and CANADEVI members can receive a discount on the attendance fee.
Find out more about the conference from NAHB’s Web site at www.nahb.org/mexicoconference, or e-mail Rita Feinberg or call her at 800-368-5242 x8415.
(To read an assessment of the Mexican housing market found elswhere in this issue, read the interview of Héctor Aguirre, president of CANADEVI (the Cámara Nacional de la Industria de Desarrollo y Promoción de Vivienda), NAHB’s sister organization in Mexico by clicking here.)
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Home builders from the U.S. and Mexico will work together to create more accessible trade channels and exchange technology and skills aimed at improving the quality, affordability and efficiency of the home building process, according to a landmark agreement signed on June 28.
