With a shrinking population in Japan, the country’s investors want to branch out to make long term plays in stronger markets. Sekisui House is one example of that. Entering the US in 2010, the company now has dozens of joint venture developments with Holland Operations and Newland and Woodside Homes is a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Sekisui House, Ltd. has one US Holding Company, Sekisui House US Holdings, LLC that has two subsidiaries: SH Residential Holdings, LLC that owns Woodside Homes and is the home building subsidiary; and North America Sekisui House, LLC (NASH), which develops master-planned communities, multifamily, and mixed-use projects through joint ventures with third-party developers.

As the only wholly-owned operating subsidiary in the US, Woodside Homes has created a relationship with Sekisui to design functional homes with an advanced construction process and improved performance than what the US home builder could do alone. The two organizations are sharing technology, processes, research and research methodologies on a case by case basis to improve all aspects of design and operations.

Environmental content is a main focus of the relationship. Sekisui has many accomplishments related to building green, including being selected for the Gold Class three years in a row, the highest rating in the home building category of the 2018 RobecoSAM Sustainability Awards. The Switzerland-based RobecoSAM AG is a world-class assessor of socially responsible investment and provides investors with information on corporate sustainability.

Together Woodside and Sekisui are focusing on sustainable development. And, as Tom McKay, senior VP, chief development officer at NASH Advisory Services points out, their focus on sustainability includes connecting more people within a place to not compromise the needs of future generations.

In this short video, McKay shares insights on the company’s investments along with their future plans.

NASH asnd Sekisui provide guiding principles for all partners on each individual project, with a focus on master planned communities. The current plans include both master plan community development with Newland and urban infill with Holland Partner Group in Vancouver.

NASH partners with the developer to capture research on the customer to determine how to plan a community - vertical or master plan.

“Research is really an ongoing process for us,” McKay says. “At a high level, research starts by identifying the markets we want to be in, then identifying the locations within the markets, then understanding the unique product and consumer opportunities for any given site. We are constantly conducting macro level research to understand the health of our markets and to see if there are new markets we should consider. We are also active with micro level research to understand who our buyers are and to make sure we are addressing their needs. We also look at lost buyers to see why we weren't a fit.”