Mississippi Builder Bobby Rayburn Elected NAHB President
Pledging to expand housing opportunities for America’s working families, Mississippi builder Bobby Rayburn was elected on Jan. 21 as 2004 president of the 215,000-member NAHB during the association’s 60th annual International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas.
“We expect another very solid year for the housing market,” Rayburn told the NAHB Board of Directors in his acceptance speech. “Interest rates remain low, housing demand is high and builders are generally bullish about the future.”
Despite record high homeownership rates and housing’s strong performance in recent years, Rayburn pointed out that the job of housing the nation’s working families is far from complete.
“Millions of families cannot afford to live in the communities where they work,” Rayburn said. “I will dedicate my presidency to helping those working families who struggle to find housing.”
Rayburn, president of Rayburn and Associates in Jackson, has built more than 3,000 homes and apartments throughout Mississippi during his 30-year career in home building. He is a past president of the Greater Hattiesburg Home Builders Association and of the Home Builders Association of Mississippi. He was named Builder of the Year by the Hattiesburg HBA in 1979.