J
apanese homebuilder Sekisui House is expanding its operations in the US, bringing new investment and innovation to a sector racing to meet demand. The company acquired MDC Holdings, which builds single-family homes under the name Richmond American Homes, for $5 billion last January.

    Sekisui House now owns several US subsidiaries, including Woodside Homes, Holt Homes, Chesmar Homes, and Hubble Homes, which deliver around 15,000 new homes annually across 16 states. This would make Sekisui House the fifth-largest builder in the US by units, according to ProBuilder's 2023 completion statistics.

    Sekisui House is focused on high-end custom homes in Japan but has turned to the US due to a decelerating housing market at home. The company plans to train US construction workers in new skills, sending a team of experts to begin training local contractors such as carpenters this month.

    The goal is to address a labor shortage that has plagued the US homebuilding industry, with the National Association of Home Builders estimating the country needs thousands of new skilled construction workers. Sekisui House hopes its multidisciplinary approach to construction will translate to the US, where builders are constrained by regulations and union rules.

    However, it remains to be seen whether the Japanese approach will work in the US. Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner notes that Sekisui House faces similar challenges as other US builders, including high input costs and regulatory hurdles.

    For now, Sekisui House continues to operate its US subsidiaries under their original brands, offering homes built in the same style and with the same methods as before. However, the company plans to add new offerings and test the US appetite for homes constructed with Japanese technology and design influences.

    Sekisui House expects to build 20,000 units in the US by January 2032, with its Shawood line of Japanese-style wood houses accounting for 3,000 of them. The Shawood homes use advanced insulation material and "airtight" construction methods to boost energy efficiency, but require special training and precision joining techniques.

    The MDC acquisition signals Sekisui House's commitment to expansion and investment in the US market, which is a rapidly growing part of its total business. For the first nine months of 2024, Sekisui House reported $5 million in revenue from overseas sales, up 156% from last year and accounting for around 30% of its total revenue.