NAHB is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association whose mission is to enhance the climate for housing and the building industry. Chief among NAHB’s goals is providing and expanding opportunities for all consumers to have safe, decent and affordable housing. As “the voice of America’s housing industry,” NAHB helps promote policies that will keep housing a national priority.
 
 Founded in 1942, NAHB is a federation of more than 800 state and local associations. About one-third of NAHB’s 235,000 members are home builders and/or remodelers. The remaining members are associates working in closely related fields within the housing industry, such as mortgage finance and building products and services.
 
 The association is member-driven, with a professional staff of more than 300 in Washington. More than 2,800 members serve on the association’s board of directors, which elects the association’s Senior Officers and helps set the association’s agenda.
 
 NAHB's various groups analyze policy issues, take the industry’s story to the public through the media and other outlets, monitor and work toward improving the housing finance system, analyze and forecast economic and consumer trends, and educate, train and disseminate information to members. The association also represents the industry’s interests on Capitol Hill and strives to ensure that housing remains a national priority when laws are made and policies are established. NAHB also works with federal agencies on regulations affecting the housing industry in areas such as mortgage finance, codes, energy and the environment.
 
 NAHB’s builder members construct about 80 percent of the new homes constructed each year in the United States.
 
 NAHB’s Annual Convention and Exposition, known as the International Builders’ Show, is one of the largest building projects showcases in the country, attracting more than 100,000 attendees each year. The 2009 show will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, Jan. 20-23, 2009.
 
 
 NAHB’s affiliates include the NAHB Research Center, which develops, tests and evaluates new materials, methods, standards and equipment to improve the technology and the affordability of America’s housing; and the Home Builders Institute, NAHB’s workforce development arm, which develops and administers a wide range of educational and job training programs.