SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 – Bob Nielsen, a builder and developer from Reno, was elected as the 2011 Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) during the association’s International Builders’ Show in Orlando. A leader in the Reno area home building and development industries for more than 25 years, Nielsen is president of Shelter Properties.
Nielsen has been at the forefront of NAHB’s efforts to strengthen the residential construction industry in response to the current economic downturn. At a time when many banks are under pressure to reduce lending to the housing industry, Nielsen has been working with the banking industry and its regulators to restore the flow of credit to builders for sound projects.
“Policy makers and the financial services industry need to understand that you can’t paint the building industry with a broad brush,” Nielsen said. “There are many solid projects in vibrant markets that are a good investment right now. The housing industry needs credit for those projects in order to get housing going again as an engine of job growth in America.”
A long-time advocate for affordable housing, Nielsen is committed to supplying high-quality, affordable “workforce” housing in Reno and Las Vegas. Nielsen has developed more than 35 communities housing more than 3,500 families. He was instrumental in the creation of the Nevada Low Income Housing Trust Fund, and his company concentrates on building affordable housing for families and senior citizens.
Nielsen was president of the Builders Association of Northern Nevada in 1986, president of the Nevada Home Builders Association in 1988 and was inducted into the Northern Nevada Housing Hall of Fame in 2005. At the national level, Nielsen has been a member of NAHB’s Federal Government Affairs Committee for more than 15 years, and was its chairman in 1997. He has also served as chairman of NAHB’s Housing Finance Committee and is a Senior Life Director.
From 1999 to 2001, Nielsen was a member of the board of directors of the San Francisco Federal Home Loan Bank, and in 2003-2004 he was a member of the Fannie Mae National Advisory Council. In 2007 he was reappointed to the board of directors of the San Francisco Federal Home Loan Bank, where he still serves. In 2010, Nielson was selected to serve on Fannie Mae’s inaugural Affordable Housing Advisory Council, which advises Fannie Mae on how it can best support the creation of affordable housing.
Prior to his home building career, Nielsen taught high school English and speech for six years. He coached high school football and youth sports baseball and basketball for 20 years. Nielsen and his wife, Barbara, have two adult sons and one grandchild.
ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 175,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB’s builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for 2010.
About The Builders: The Builders Association of Northern Nevada is the “Voice of the Building Industry” in the region. Chartered in 1956, The Builders is a non-profit entity affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders and is committed to providing education, information, representation and benefits to their membership. Information about the Builders Association of Northern Nevada is located on their website at www.thebuilders.com.
