Registration Open for 2021 NAHB Student Building Competition

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Registration is open for the National Association of Home Builders’ annual student competition. Typically held at the International Builders’ Show, the 2021 event will instead be held online.

“The virtual competition provides an opportunity for more teams to participate because travel is not required and expenses are limited to the competition registration fee,” reads the NAHB registration announcement. 

The competition, which requires teams to develop a residential construction project plan from concept to closing, will be held Feb. 1-5, 2021. As usual, the student competition features four categories based on education level and discipline:

• Four-year programs;
• Associate programs;
• Secondary programs (architecture);
• Secondary programs (construction management).

Last year a team from Michigan State University won the four-year category for the second consecutive year, the first time any school won back-to-back.

This year, students are asked to prepare a proposal for purchasing and developing a tract of land in Concord, N.C.. Teams must submit detailed and realistic plans that include a market analysis, cost estimation, sales and marketing strategy and sustainability methods. Proposals will be presented to a group of judges acting as senior executives for a regional home builder.

“The senior executives are busy people whose time cannot be wasted reading extraneous, self-evident information,” reads the problem description for this year’s competition. “Your written proposal must be a concise document that includes a well-written executive summary, relevant financials, and is free from grammar and spelling errors.”