Meeting with National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) & International Housing Association (IHA)

On February 25, 2020 CICA had the opportunity to meet with the NAHB Chief Operating Officer, Deborah Malone, at the CICA headquarters in Paris. Ms. Malone is also in charge of the Secretariat of the International Housing Association (IHA). Both organizations, NAHB and IHA are located in Washington DC.

National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)

The NAHB serves as the voice of America’s housing industry. NAHB is comprised of more than 650 state and local associations, including suppliers.

International Housing Association (IHA)

IHA brings together leaders of the housing sector from countries around the world. It provides an international forum for the world’s housing industry leaders to allow them to address common issues. The IHA also provides economic and issue specific information to global organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The presidency of IHA is rotating. Currently, the Australian Housing Industry Association (HIA) is holding the chair.

 

Outcomes of the CICA-NAHB/IHA Meeting

Deborah Malone presented the works of NAHB as well as of the International Housing Association (IHA). Topics of major interest for NAHB but also IHA include housing affordability, energy efficiency, Building Information Modelling (BIM) as well as training to face the shortage of skilled workers. It has been noticed that many topics of NAHB and IHA are overlapping with issues CICA working groups are dealing with.

Alongside its advocacy functions, NAHB also produces the building industry’s biggest event, the International Builders’ Show (IBS). CICA was invited to participate in the next IBS 2021 taking place in February 2021 in Orlando.

The IHA organizes the International Housing and Home Warranty Conference every three years. This event gathers all stakeholders eager to discuss challenges and opportunities for the provision of new homes, warranty provision and consumer protection. The next conference will take place in Dublin on September 20-25, 2020.

It was a very fruitful meeting and it was agreed to meet again in Washington during the CICA mission in April to discuss future partnerships.