Atlanta, GA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/23/2020 --A leading member of the worldwide business networking organization for 10 years, Hugh Gilliam most recently served as FIABCI Vice President of Local Councils, the Executive Committee and a Chapter Board member. In his new role as FIABCI-USA President, Gilliam plans to assimilate case studies featuring members who are conducting business in the global arena, strengthen the USA Local Council Network, increase exposure and interaction among global chapters and create more educational programming for members.

"Over the last decade as a FIABCI member, I've had the opportunity to network with exceptional world professionals and glean unrivaled knowledge for my own global business," explained Gilliam. "There's really no other international real estate network out there like it. The world is more accessible than ever and people want to know their real estate options."

Founded in France in 1951, FIABCI (a French acronym for Federation Internationale des Administrateurs de Bien-Conselis Immobiliers) is a global business organization for all professionals associated with the real estate industry. Members of the organization are professionals from a variety of housing, design, real estate, and city planning industries. Members include architects, investors, brokers, service providers, developers, public authorities and other professionals, representing dozens of countries.

FIABCI helps members establish international relationships and referral networks while continually improving their real estate skills and education. These relationships and referral sources are important in both directions. In the United States, foreign buyer residential purchases for the time period of April 2018 to March 2019 was nearly $78 billion. International buyers had a far greater tendency to make an all-cash purchase and had a median purchase price over $20,000 higher than the national median home sale average. Foreign buyers were nearly three times more likely than American buyers to purchase properties of $1 million or more (data compiled by the National Association of Realtors® - NAR). In terms of U.S. residents having an interest in international real estate, 7 percent of agents responding to an NAR survey said they had a U.S. client who wanted to buy internationally.

Gilliam joined the RealtyHive team earlier this year and assisted with the opening of the first company branch office in Atlanta. Along with his FIABCI leadership role and position at RealtyHive, Gilliam is an award-winning Realtor based in Atlanta, Ga. and one of the first Realtors in Georgia to hold the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation. It is one of several continuing education, real estate designations Gilliam has earned to stay current in the changing real estate business.

He is also the co-founder of Doorways International e-magazine. Each month, Doorways International showcases luxury properties from around the world to its extensive list of highly engaged buyers and real estate professionals.

"I'm looking forward to my new duties as FIABCI-USA President and want to continue spreading the news of our professional organization. I know my affiliation with RealtyHive and its vast global network now spanning some 217 countries will create more exposure for both FIABCI-USA and our other international chapters."