NBN Online for the week of March 17, 2008

Attend 50+ Symposium in New Orleans on May 19-21

Many builders in the 55+ market have reported little or no change in sales and traffic since the downturn, with 55+ households accounting for 21% of new home sales and 18% of the total new home buying market.

Learn more about this growing market at 2008 Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in New Orleans from May 19-21.

The symposium features more than 35 sessions on redefining lifestyle communities, design, development and operations, sales and marketing, technology and more.

Attendees will discover how to:

• Refine marketing concepts. They’ll learn what attracts buyers who aren’t retiring, how to market to people who won’t be making a home-buying decision for another year or more, and how to capture the imagination of prospects.
  
  
• Refresh design ideas and find out what the 55+ market wants. About 77% of age-qualified buyers chose their new home based on the room layout and design of the unit.
  
  
• Renew sales confidence. The symposium will explore sales techniques that work for the 55+ market.
  
  
• Revolutionize knowledge of the latest trends. New technologies and lifestyle choices are transforming the way people live. New technologies available now and what’s planned for the future will be discussed.

Among the featured sessions are:

• Creating the Mindset to Move: Turning Prospects Into Sales
• The High-Tech Advantage in Active Adult Living
• Make Greenbacks by Going Green
• 3-Ds of the New Boomer Community — Diversity, Density, Design
• Integrating 50+ Communities Into the Urban Core
• “Hey, I’m Not Old!” Subtle Age-in-Place Design for Senior

The symposium will also include:

• All three Certified Active Adult Specialist in Housing (CAASH) designation courses
  
  
• The community service project, Rebuilding Together New Orleans. Volunteers are encouraged to participate for one or two days prior to the symposium.
  
  
• Two tours ― The symposium features an active adult/lifestyle bus tour of Louisiana’s active adult communities as well as a New Orleans Recovery Tour, a closer look at how residents are rebuilding the city after Hurricane Katrina.
  
  
• Best of 50+ Housing Awards Gala
  
  
• An exhibit area showcasing products and services related to 50+ housing.

Register online by April 30 and take advantage of the special 50+ Housing Council member rate. Join the council to take advantage of the members-only discount.

For more information, see the symposium brochure on the NAHB Web site, or e-mail The NAHB University of Housing’s Office of the Registrar at registrar@nahb.com, or call 800-368-5242 x8338.

Earn CAASH Credits at Building for Boomers & Beyond

The three required courses for the Certified Active Adult Specialist in Housing (CAASH) designation will be held Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18 at the 2008 Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium in New Orleans.

The CAASH designation gives housing professionals serving this rapidly burgeoning market the essential knowledge, tools and skills that will help them succeed.

To learn more about CAASH, visit www.nahb.org/CAASHinfo.

Find Out What the 45+ Housing Market Wants

“Right House, Right Place, Right Time: Community and Lifestyle Preferences of the 45+ Housing Market,” available through BuilderBooks.com, will help 50+ housing professionals determine the right design, home features and amenities to attract boomer home buyers in their market.

Margaret Wylde guides readers through the latest survey results on this important consumer group and explains what their responses mean for today’s and tomorrow’s home building industry. 

To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.