PATH - A Public Private Partnership for Advancing Housing Technology

November 9, 2006

PATH, McGraw Hill Construction Release Results of Innovation in Residential Building Project [IMAGE: symposium study report cover sm.jpg]

Reports emphasize need for new market research that will lead to improved productivity and increased profitability in home building

PATH and McGraw Hill Construction released today four reports, one of which -- "Residential Market Research for Innovation" -- details the entire scope of work under a partnership conducted by PATH and McGraw-Hill Construction to investigate the most critical research data gaps impeding better understanding of innovation adoption.

The findings of the project are clear: additional market research can better equip stakeholders to meet the challenge of technology adoption in housing.

"There is no doubt our industry is lagging in terms of innovation, yet innovation is the very thing that spurs profitability and productivity," states Harvey M. Bernstein, vice president of industry analytics, alliances and strategic initiatives for McGraw-Hill Construction. "We need to understand what's holding us back because home building has such an impact on the U.S. economy. That is why the need for more market research in the housing industry is critical."

Indeed, the U.S. economy is greatly affected by the home building industry, which comprises over 4% of the GDP (with all construction contributing 8%, second only to healthcare).

The information contained in the reports stem from content gathered at February 2006's Symposium on Market Data for Housing Innovation. The symposium brought together industry leaders, including manufacturers, builders, academics, researchers and trade associations, to discuss these issues.

Symposium leaders -- whose recommendations are provided in one of the reports, "Symposium on Market Data Housing Innovation: Symposium Summary" -- observe that consumers, manufacturers and builders all play a role in spurring technological change within the residential building industry, but gaps exist pertaining to common understanding of their behaviors.

Although these stakeholders have different needs, they also share several common ones. The five identified areas for research collection include the following:

• Value and Valuation: There is uneven information about technologies, as well as how they have been or would be valued.
• Metrics Performance: No standard practice exists for measuring how homebuilders adopt technologies or how manufacturers innovate.
• Intermediaries: Outside parties, such as suppliers and exchangers, retailers, regulatory officials, the media, realtors, lenders and others, also play a role in influencing technology adoption.
• Market Data Collection Methods: Problems exist in the way data is currently collected. Issues like sampling representation, analytic rigor and validity checking are particularly problematic when modeling the U.S housing industry.
• Information and Knowledge Transfer: The quantity and quality of information, and vehicles for its dissemination, are consistently reported as a critical concern. Defining knowledge transfer benchmarks across industry sectors is a critical market data opportunity.

To create a roadmap for future data collection efforts, PATH and McGraw-Hill Construction interpreted these five themes from both an industry implementation perspective and a policy perspective. The industry implementation plan presents public and private industry stakeholders with tangible action items for continued market research, while the public policy paper offers recommendations to facilitate housing innovation and technology adoption.

Download a copy of the final report

About McGraw-Hill Construction

McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), connects people, projects and products across the design and construction industry. Backed by the power of Dodge, Sweets, Engineering News-Record (ENR), Architectural Record, and Regional Publications, the company provides information, intelligence, tools, applications and resources to help customers grow their business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers within the $4.6 trillion global construction community. For more information, visit www.construction.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 240 offices in 36 countries. Sales in 2005 were $6.0 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.

For More Information:
Brian Sullivan
202-708-0685

Kathy Malangone
McGraw-Hill Construction
(212) 904-4376

Content updated on 5/19/2009

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