NAHB Mourns Passing of Former Staff Member Ignacio Cabrera

IBS
Published
Ignacio Cabrera

NAHB mourns the passing of Ignacio Cabrera, a longtime NAHB staff member, on July 12. He was 79.

Cabrera, who retired from NAHB in 2009 after more than 35 years of service, led the International Builders’ Show (IBS) sales team and was a catalyst in creating the extensive show experience that is IBS.

“Ignacio was a critical component to the success of IBS throughout his career at NAHB,” stated NAHB CEO Jim Tobin. “Without his drive and creativity, the show would not be what it is today.”

Originally born in Cuba, Cabrera grew up in Queens, New York, before moving to Washington, D.C. in 1968. He and his husband, Bill Sawyer, were frequent travelers and entertainers, and often hosted friends and family in their Georgetown home.

Cabrera is survived by his husband and his sister, Luisa Cabrera Mendoza, her husband Julio G. Mendoza, and their two daughters Cecilia and Gabriela.

A memorial mass was held for Cabrera on July 18 in Washington, D.C. Donations may be made to his favorite charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Economics

Sep 17, 2025

Housing Starts Remain Soft Ahead of Fed Meeting

Overall housing starts decreased 8.5% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.31 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

PWB Week | Professional Women in Building Council

Sep 16, 2025

Tradeswomen Paving Their Own Way

NAHB spoke with Professional Women in Building (PWB) members Elyse Adams and Brittney Quinn about their career paths in the trades and how PWB has positively influenced their journeys.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Sep 17, 2025

The Fed Cuts and Projects More Easing to Come

After a monetary policy pause that began at the start of 2025, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee (FOMC) voted to reduce the short-term federal funds rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its September meeting. This move decreased the target federal funds rate to an upper rate of 4.25%.

Economics

Sep 17, 2025

Housing Starts Remain Soft Ahead of Fed Meeting

Challenging affordability conditions continue to act as headwinds for the housing industry, but the sector could see lower interest rates in the near future with the Federal Reserve expected to cut short-term interest rates this afternoon.

Economics

Sep 16, 2025

Builder Confidence Steady but Future Sales Expectations Hit Six-Month High

Builder sentiment levels remained unchanged in September but lower mortgage rates and expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon cut the federal funds rate led to higher future sale expectations in the coming months.