New Home Owners Survey 2003
The 2003 National Customer Satisfaction Survey is the third survey conducted among owners of newly built homes; previous surveys were conducted in 2001 and 2000.
Commissioned independently by the Housing Forum -- Constructing Excellence and sponsored by the DTI and ODPM, the survey is designed to provide an analysis of the trends of customer satisfaction within the private house building industry over the last three years and form a guide to advise consumers of the about average performers in the industry this year.
Key Findings
Overall
In general, more recent change in findings is apparent than was seen between the first two surveys, with satisfaction levels slightly lower this year.
The star ratings allocated in the Housebuilder Rating Table show that while the ratings for some housebuilders remain unchanged, there has been some movement with more now getting higher star ratings than previously, particularly on overall satisfaction with the housebuilder and the condition of the home on moving in day. More also get higher ratings on recommendation of the housebuilder and overall satisfaction with the quality of the home.
When comparing findings for the housebuilding industry between surveys, due to the large sample sizes (over 10,000 respondents), only small differences are required to indicate a significant change (between +0.8 and +1.4 percentage points).
Quality of the Home
Over four in five (83%) are satisfied with their new home -- a little lower than 2001 and 2000 (87% in both years).
Attitudes towards all aspects of the home asked about -- construction and finish, fixtures and fittings, design and appearance of the development, external design and appearance of the home, use of internal space and parking space along with sound proofing -- are all positive. Although these scores are generally lower than previously, and despite properties becoming more expensive, rating of value for money is unchanged.
Service Provided by Housebuilders
Nearly two-thirds (65%) are satisfied with the service from their housebuilder. Following trends towards satisfaction with the home, this finding is lower than in both 2001 and 2000.
Satisfaction with the service provided by housebuilders tends to decline over successive stages of the purchase process, although in all cases the majority remain positive. Views are most favourable during the buying process, lower on moving-in day, and least positive towards the after-sales service. Ratings of staff follow the same pattern, with those responsible for sales higher rated than customer care or after-sales staff.
Experience of defects and/or snags in the home has increased (90% compared with 84% in 2001 and 81% in 2000). However, satisfaction with the overall service provided in dealing with these problems remains positive (51% satisfied), and only slightly lower than previously (53% versus 54% in 2000).
Owner Attitudes
Attitudes towards newly built homes are very positive, although owners are generally less positive about their particular housebuilder. For example, almost all owners are pleased about buying the home they did (88%), and a majority (55%) would want another newly built one if they were to move again. However, fewer agree than disagree that they would want to buy another home from the same housebuilder (29% versus 41%). Similarly, while attitudes are favourable towards the design of newly built homes, they are less positive about the build quality compared with old ones (46% and 22% agree respectively).
Although more people would recommend their housebuilder than would be critical of them (with a positive net recommend balance of +10), this level of recommendation is lower than previously (+20 in 2001 and +21 in 2000).
