Updated:
The New Home Company
The New Home Company was founded in 2009 by H. Lawrence Webb alongside capital from land bank manager California Pacific Homes, structuring the builder to...
The New Home Company
The New Home Company was founded in 2009 by H. Lawrence Webb alongside capital from land bank manager California Pacific Homes, structuring the builder to acquire finished lots rather than raw land. Webb, a former CEO of John Laing Homes, took the company public on the New York Stock Exchange in January 2014 under the ticker NWHM, marking one of the first homebuilder IPOs after the housing downturn. The firm operates exclusively in premium coastal California submarkets, distinguishing itself from national production builders by targeting infill and infill-adjacent locations in Orange County, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles County. The builder focuses on single-family detached and attached homes, generally in communities of 50 to 150 units, with entry price points well above the regional median. The strategy relies on acquiring permitted lots from third-party developers and land sellers, avoiding raw-land entitlement risk while maintaining premium positioning through architectural customization and location specificity. Confirmed communities include Lambert Ranch in Irvine and The Vintage at Santana Row in San Jose, both delivered in partnership with land-development entities affiliated with the firm's founding investors. The model concentrates exposure in Northern and Southern California, with no operations outside the state. As a public builder, The New Home Company reports detailed operational metrics rather than assets under management, making AUM an inapplicable metric; delivery volumes in recent years have averaged 500 to 600 home closings annually. Webb continued as CEO through the firm's 2021 take-private acquisition by Apollo Global Management in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $740 million (per Apollo, March 2021). May 2021: Apollo completed the acquisition and delisted NWHM, transitioning the builder to private ownership while retaining the existing management team. The firm operates from its headquarters in Irvine with division offices in Northern California and the Inland Empire. The firm's structural differentiator is its land-light capital philosophy, carried over from its founding partnership with a land bank. By purchasing finished lots rather than entitling raw ground, The New Home Company maintains a shorter cash-conversion cycle than traditional homebuilders, allowing it to scale communities rapidly in supply-constrained markets where entitlement timelines can exceed five years. Apollo's 2021 acquisition signaled institutional conviction in the niche, bringing permanent capital to a builder whose financial profile more closely resembles a manufacturing-light consumer products company than a conventional real estate developer.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2009
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Irvine
Corporate office
Irvine, CA, United States
Principals
H. Lawrence Webb
Chief Executive Officer
Joseph Davis
Chairman of the Board
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs the firm, and what is the management structure?
H. Lawrence 'Larry' Webb has led The New Home Company as CEO since founding it in 2009. Webb previously served as CEO of John Laing Homes and has spent his career in California homebuilding. Joseph Davis, a co-founder and the firm's Chairman, provided early-stage capital through his land-banking entity, California Pacific Homes. Following the 2021 take-private by Apollo Global Management, Webb remained at the helm, signaling continuity in the operating strategy.
How is The New Home Company different from large public homebuilders?
Unlike national builders that option and develop raw land across dozens of markets, The New Home Company purchases finished, permitted lots from land sellers and third-party developers. This land-light model avoids multi-year entitlement risk and accelerates the time between lot acquisition and home delivery. The firm also concentrates exclusively on premium submarkets within coastal California, yielding communities with higher average selling prices than the typical production builder's portfolio.
Does the firm hold land on its balance sheet?
The firm maintains a deliberately lean balance sheet with minimal raw-land exposure. Its historical model involves acquiring fully entitled lots through rolling option contracts or direct purchase agreements with land development partners, including entities affiliated with California Pacific Homes. This approach produces a shorter cash-to-close cycle than peers that maintain substantial owned-land inventories.
What happened when Apollo Global Management acquired the company?
Apollo completed an all-cash acquisition of The New Home Company in May 2021, valuing the equity at approximately $740 million. The transaction took the firm private and delisted its NYSE-traded shares. Apollo retained the existing management team, a common posture in its real-asset acquisitions, signaling a long-duration hold strategy rather than an operational overhaul.
What product types and price points does the firm target?
The New Home Company builds single-family detached and attached homes, typically in community sizes of 50 to 150 units. Its offerings sit at the premium end of the California market, with communities like Lambert Ranch in Irvine and The Vintage at Santana Row in San Jose reflecting the emphasis on architecture and location over volume. The firm does not participate in the entry-level or first-time-buyer segment.
Where does the firm operate geographically?
All operations are concentrated in coastal California. The firm maintains division offices covering Orange County, Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire, and the San Francisco Bay Area. It has not expanded outside the state, a deliberate choice driven by the supply constraints and pricing power inherent to these submarkets.
Is The New Home Company structured as a family office?
No. The firm is a production homebuilder that was previously publicly traded and is now privately held by Apollo Global Management. Its founding relationship with California Pacific Homes — a land bank — does not make it a family office, though early-stage capital did originate from Joseph Davis's affiliated entities.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on asset managers?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: