International Resort Developers to Gather in New Orleans

Exhibit at NAR’s trade show will present some of the world?s finest second home and resort developers
Exhibit at NAR’s trade show will present some of the world?s finest second home and resort developers

RISMEDIA, October 24, 2006?The National Association of Realtors will join with Europe?s home and resort exposition to bring international resort developers to New Orleans during NAR’s Annual Conference & Expo, November 10 -13. The exhibit at NAR’s trade show will present some of the world?s finest second home and resort developers, exhibiting for the first time at NAR’s convention.

Salon Immobiliario de Madrid (SIMA) will feature over 30 international second-home developers from five continents, with special emphasis on Latin American markets where residents of the United States are investing heavily. International purchases of second homes have been especially strong recently in Mexico and the Caribbean, as well as Panama, Brazil and Dubai.

NAR president Thomas M. Stevens, who played a key role in bringing the SIMA event to New Orleans, said: ?More than four million Americans now live abroad. Many are baby boomers, retirees and investors seeking new real estate opportunities in the growing world second-home market.?

The SIMA-NAR second-home showcase will allow Realtors to learn about developments, to network with other professionals and share international referrals via NAR’s World Properties Network, operated by the 25-member International Consortium of Real Estate Associations.

?NAR chose SIMA as a partner in this venture because of our ongoing relationship in SIMA’s main second home and resort trade show held annually in Madrid,? Stevens said.

The SIMA showcase in New Orleans will feature educational sessions on topics such as financing, title insurance and compensation of referral sources in the transnational marketplace. Other educational sessions will be designed to provide tools to enable Realtors to market international second homes more efficiently.

An educational session ?Innovative Marketing Strategies From Around the World? will feature speakers from a variety of countries who will share insights on marketing at real estate expos, combining the travel and real estate industries, and international marketing.

Another session titled ?Partnering with Developers in the Second Homes Market? will show Realtors how to work with international developers to market properties at a premium.

?NAR is developing strategies to make the international second homes market a profitable segment for Realtors,? said NAR president-elect Pat Vredevoogd Combs. Markets such as Mexico are experiencing a real estate boom due to purchases by retirees from the United States, baby boomers and investors. NAR is at the forefront of this market.

The main SIMA show is an annual event run by Grupo Planner, a division of Reed Exhibitions. SIMA is one of the largest real estate expositions in the world, with over 700 exhibits and 130,000 attendees in its main annual event in Spain. Grupo Planner, the parent of SIMA, is a privately owned exposition firm based in Madrid and since 2005 has been a part of Reed Expositions, which is one of the largest expo companies in the world and sponsors hundreds of trade shows.

Information on SIMA is available at www.simaexpo.com.

For more information about The National Association of Realtors, visit www.realtor.org.