Top Home Builders Leaving Buyers Satisfied
No one is going to argue that we're in a housing slump. Although declining new-home prices and high inventory levels have dented the coffers of some top builders, many of them are still succeeding in improving overall customer satisfaction in 2008, compared with 2007, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction study released last week.
Overall customer satisfaction in 2008 averages 779 on a 1,000-point scale, up 38 points from 7,411 since 2007. Markets experiencing the largest customer-satisfaction improvements include Palm Beach, FL; Tampa, FL; and Albuquerque, NM. In addition, overall satisfaction has increased in 28 of the 29 individual markets that were also surveyed in 2007.
Overall customer satisfaction
The J.D. Power and Associates study, includes satisfaction ratings for builders in 33 markets. Nine factors drive overall customer satisfaction with home builders, listed in order of importance: builder's sales staff (15 percent), builder's warranty/customer service staff (15 percent), workmanship/materials (14 percent), price/value (14 percent), home readiness (13 percent), construction manager (13 percent), recreational facilities provided by the builder (7 percent), builder's design center (6 percent) and location (4 percent).
Pulte brands — which include Del Webb, DiVosta Homes and Pulte Homes — rank highest in customer satisfaction among new-home builders in 11 markets. Also, Pulte and Centex Homes brands each ranked highest in new-home quality in seven markets.
Other builders topping the study's customer satisfaction list include (in alphabetical order):
• Cambridge Homes (part of D.R. Horton and ties with Lakewood Homes and Pulte Homes in Chicago) • Centex Homes (headquartered in Dallas, TX)
• Darling Homes (Frisco, TX)
• David Weekley Homes (Houston, TX)
• Eastwood Homes (Charlotte, NC)
• Granville Homes (Fresno, CA)
• John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods (Atlanta, GA)
• Lakewood Homes (which ties with Cambridge and Pulte Homes in Chicago)
• M/I Homes (Columbus, OH)
• Medallion Homes (San Antonio, TX)
• Minto Communities (Coconut Creek, FL)
• Shea Homes (Walnut, CA)
• Standard Pacific Homes (Irvine, CA)
• Tim Lewis Communities (Citrus Heights, CA)
• Trendmaker Homes (which is part of Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company and headquartered in Houston)
While the volatility of the housing market over the last two years has forced many home builders to go out of business, the study has found that those left in the ring have focused more on customer satisfaction and are delivering more incentives to attract new home buyers. For first-time home buyers, the market conditions are richly in their favor.
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