Orlando, FL — Despite lower attendance numbers this year, the International Builders’ Show marked another successful year in Orlando, FL, attracting more than 92,000 attendees, according to IBS sponsor, the National Association of Home Builders. The attendance dip was felt by an industry that’s been rallying against the effects the subprime mortgage market. But exhibitors reported having quality traffic, and speakers like economists David Seiders, Frank Nothaft and David Berson forecast vigorous economic growth following help from tax rebates by mid-year, setting up a 2009 recovery. The NAHB also stressed green building as a way to survive and thrive while its lobbyists stayed on Capitol Hill to encourage Congress to enact housing incentives and FHA modernization. On the second day of the show, dubbed “Green Day,” the NAHB unveiled the Green Building Program administered by the NAHB Research Center. The Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association launched www.greencabinetsource.org, the new companion microsite to its Environmental Stewardship Program. And the U.S. Department of Energy challenged home builders to build 220,000 U.S. homes that use 30% less energy by 2012.

For more 2008 IBS news, and upcoming K/BIS Chicago news, go to www.KitchenBathDesign.com. Be sure to sign up for the site’s annual trio of K/BIS eNewsletters.

For more breaking news also visit Top Headlines section.

More Live Events