Education

About NAHB Designations

Want to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to your profession? Ever thought of earning a NAHB designation as a way to do so?

Earning a designation allows NAHB members to hone their business skills and convey superior training, practical experience and in-depth knowledge to potential clients. Additionally, designation holders can take advantage of valuable networking opportunities throughout their enrollment, working closely with expert instructors and other professionals both within their field and outside their specific area of expertise.

Below is a description of each designation:

Certified Graduate Associate (CGA): Developed specifically for NAHB associate members (including supplier of materials and financial services), the CGA program offers participants an opportunity to enhance their knowledge of home building industry fundamentals.

Certified Graduate Builder (CGB): An overview of key areas in today’s home building industry, the CGB curriculum covers business management, financial strategies, marketing techniques, construction technologies and more.

Graduate Master Builder (GMB): The GMB program allows industry professionals who already have completed either the Certified Graduate Builder of the Certified Graduate Remodelor course to more fully develop their skills and provide in-depth instruction geared for experienced building professionals.

Certified Graduate Remodelor™ (CGR): An exclusive professional designation that emphasizes business management skills as the key to a professional remodeling operation, the CGR designation trains remodelors in project management, design estimating and job cost, along with other core skills relevant to the remodeling industry.

Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS): Developed by the NAHB Remodelors™ Council, in collaboration with the AARP, NAHB Research Center and NAHB Seniors Housing Council, the CPAS Program provides comprehensive, practical, market-specific information about working with older and maturing adults to remodel their homes for aging-in-place.

Certified New Home Sales Professional (CSP): The first designation available through the Institute of Residential Marketing 9IRM), the CSP program is designed to help specialist in new home sales to enhance their professional image, increase their marketability in the home building industry and sell more homes.

Master Certified New Home Sales Professional (Master CSP): A more advanced designation that acknowledges additional educational achievements of CSP graduates, the MCSP program is open to professionals currently holding a CSP designation. Advance courses such as "house Construction as a Selling Tool" and "Essential Closing Strategies" are targeted toward improving participants’ sales and marketing skills and providing increased marketability in the industry.

Certified New Home Marketing Professional (CMP): IRM's mid-level professional designation, the CMP program recognizes the achievements of students who have completed four marketing-intensive core IRM courses: "Understanding Housing Markets and Consumers"; "Marketing Strategies, Plans and Budgets"; "Lifestyle Merchandising, Advertising, and Promotional Strategies"; and "Challenges of New home Sales Management."

Member, Institute of Residential Marketing (MIRM): The most prestigious designation bestowed by the Institute of Residential Marketing, the MIRM represents the highest level of achievement for professionals in new home marketing. MIRM graduates are required to complete all mandated coursework and submit a case study for approval before graduating from the program.

Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP): A specialized designation for developers, property managers, asset managers and other working in the affordable housing industry, the HCCP program is the industry benchmark for education, experience and ethical standards for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) professionals. The HCCP designation is the only nationally endorsed credential of its kind, and was created through a partnership of NAHB and the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA).

Certified Leasing Professional (CLP): Developed as a prerequisite to the CLP certification exam, the CLP program reviews and tests leasing agents for competency in key issues vital to quality property leasing, such as multifamily leasing and sales skills, communication skills, merchandising, customer satisfaction, fair housing and ethics.

Registered in Apartment Management (RAM): The longest running and most well-respected program of it’s kind, the RAM program is a comprehensive educational curriculum developed to augment the professional skills of managers of apartments, condominiums and cooperative housing.

Advanced RAM: Designed to build upon the RAM designation and enhance the management skills of asset managers, property supervisors and management company owners, the Advanced RAM curriculum includes modules encompassing operations, legal issues, personnel management, fair housing and more.

For more information on professional designations from NAHB and how you can become a part of these exciting programs, please visit http://www.nahb.org/NDMTools.