THIS PAST JANUARY, the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® (NVAR), Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors® (GCAAR), and District of Columbia Association of Realtors® (DCAR) created Capitalize DC, a coalition of local Realtor® associations collaborating to promote international investment in the National Capital Region. Capitalize DC debuted in March at MIPIM, one of the largest real estate property events in the world, in Cannes, France as part of the National Association of Realtors® USA Pavilion.
More than 80 NVAR members gathered at Fairfax headquarters on Friday, April 6, to attend NVAR’s International Business Forum program: “Capitalize DC – The MIPIM Report.” The event offered a recap of the March conference and Capitalize DC participants’ global outreach experiences there.
Presenters included 2018 MIPIM attendees, NVAR Chairman of the Board Lorraine Arora, NVAR CEO Ryan Conrad, GCAAR President Tom Daley, and a remote appearance by Missouri Realtors® CEO John Sebree, whose organization has been a MIPIM participant for several years.
The value of attending MIPIM, Conrad explained, includes direct exposure to over 5,000 international investors, unrivaled access to 26,000 attendees, the ability to promote our region’s development projects, and networking opportunities to identify potential investors and bring business back to the region and to Realtors®. Members of the Capitalize DC delegation recorded videos each day during the conference to share details about their experiences with members of their associations in the D.C. Metro region. To view those videos, visit capitalizedc.net/engage.
“I appreciate what you guys are doing,” NVAR 2015 Chair Mary Bayat said. “You are exploring the possibilities and showing us the possibilities in other countries – not just here – because I personally look at the world like my country. The rest of it is up to us to learn how to deal with these opportunities. We have to educate ourselves.”
The presenters encouraged members to start thinking about how they can get involved in MIPIM next year, whether by attending the conference, sharing real estate projects for the Capitalize DC website (capitalizedc.net) and 2019 event brochure, or helping to promote MIPIM and global investment opportunities in the D.C. Metro region.
As the event ended, Arora asked the audience if they would be interested in participating in MIPIM in 2019. Many members raised their hands – a promising sign of further interest and involvement in NVAR’s global outreach initiatives.
Interested in learning more about MIPIM or other NVAR global opportunities? Visit NVAR.com/global.