Wilmington is a real estate town.

Rather than coming for a job, many people choose to live in our region because of the lifestyle and the community that’s been created by our developers, builders, Realtors, contractors, financial firms and others tied to the real estate industry.

People who work in real estate make up a significant segment of our workforce and their labor fuels much of our local economy.

To help bring together, educate and honor the real estate community, the Business Journal is working with the city of Wilmington and other partners to put together the 2014 Wilmington Real Estate Summit & Awards event on Nov. 18.

The city of Wilmington started this annual event last year (then called the Wilmington Housing Summit), and we’ve sought to build on its creation, particularly by putting additional focus on the commercial real estate community and by adding an awards component to the summit.

Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect Nov. 18 at the Wilmington Convention Center:

• A keynote breakfast with “placemaking” guru Katherine Loflin, who will share her national and international perspective on creating great places.
• A panel discussion on the long-range planning efforts underway in our region and what they’ll mean for real estate professionals.
• Four TED-style talks about significant real estate-related initiatives in our region.
• An awards lunch to honor projects, people and organizations that make our community vibrant.