Welcome

Newport Partners LLC provides a full-range of analytical, technical and market strategy services to support both the housing industry and public sector.

Our sister company, Newport Ventures, provides full-service research and strategic marketing to introduce, educate and expand the market for innovative products and programs that improve the quality, energy efficiency and affordability of America's homes and communities.

The U.S. Department of Energy has posed a challenge to the homebuilding industry - to build 220,000 high performance homes by 2012. Homes that qualify for the Builders Challenge must achieve a 70 or better on the EnergySmart Home Scale (E-Scale) and meet the Builders Challenge Quality Criteria to ensure the highest levels of comfort, quality, health and safety. 

Newport helped DOE design the initiative and is now supporting implementation. For further information on the program, email builderschallenge@newportpartnersllc.com, or check out www.buildingamerica.gov/challenge.

Click here for the Frequently Asked Questions.

Impact Fees & Housing Affordability: 
A Practitioners Guidebook, (PDF 4.8 MB)

Impact fees are one-time charges applied to new development. They are a form of land-use regulation designed to assure that communities maintain adequate levels of public facilities in the face of growth. Impact fees are assessed and dedicated principally for the provision of additional water and sewer systems, schools, libraries, parks and recreation facilities, and other infrastructure made necessary by the presence of new residents in the area. 

The purpose of this guidebook is to help practitioners design fees that more equitably reflect actual "proportionate share" and therefore have less of a negative impact on housing affordability.  It is not a primer on impact fees and assumes some general familiarity with public financing terminology. It is not a research report but a guideline, based on substantial research, for addressing issues of housing affordability and equity. 

The residential home building industry is a dynamic and leading
indicator of the U.S. economy. Unfortunately, it has not shared the productivity gains experienced by other industries, in part due to
a lack of innovation.

Government studies and university research indicate that the very structure of the housing industry is an impediment to innovation. To help counter this trend, the Partnership for Advancing
Technology in Housing (PATH) has funded several studies to better understand the process of innovation in housing. 

This pamphlet is designed to assist manufacturers in transferring new innovations into the home building industry. Containing lessons learned through interviews, focus groups, and case studies, this guide takes an inside look at today’s home building industry and provides tips for manufacturers looking to commercialize an innovation.

Through a PATH grant, Newport Partners has teamed up with the Adhesive and Sealant Council to research how adhesives may be used to create more durable and disaster-resistant roof assemblies in existing and new residential housing stock.

Newport Partners recently completed a nationwide survey examining homebuilder IT use, as well as key successes and barriers associated with implementing IT in their companies. 

Find the answers to questions such as:

What division of IT products are homebuilders most likely to try in the next 12 months? 

What software features did they find important? 

What factors separate successful IT roll-outs from failures for homebuilders? 

  Click here to order your copy today!

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