After several years of falling satisfaction amongst new build homeowners things are definitely starting to look more positive. The latest survey from the Home Builders Federation, in conjunction with NHBC, has revealed an increasing majority of new home owners are happy with their housebuilder and their new home, a second successive year of improvements across all question areas.
The annual industry customer satisfaction survey attracted much attention and interest and was one of the largest of its type undertaken in the UK having been sent to 100,000 new build buyers. A staggering 60% of forms were returned and the results clearly show that the industry has turned things around and delivered after a period of declining results. Indeed, the results show that 2018 saw more satisfied new home owners than in any previous year since the survey began in 2006.
Key highlights are:
87% of new buyers would “recommend their builder to a friend".
More than 90% of those who bought a new build home would buy new again.
86% were satisfied with the quality of their new home.
Two thirds of people said that the number of ‘snags’ was either below or in line with their expectations.
The recent years of falling new build customer satisfaction resulted in heavy criticism for the industry and demands for change. To achieve the necessary improvements there have been a number of high-level working groups set up to look at the new build sector and there were recommendations made by parliamentary groups.
Individual builders reviewed and improved their own internal quality assurance processes and their customer experiences.
Speaking at HBF’s recent annual policy conference executive chairman Stewart Baseley said:
“The survey proves conclusively that the people who buy and live in new build homes are overwhelmingly happy with their purchase. There has been a huge focus on quality and service across the industry and this is reflected by successive annual improvements across all question areas.
“The intense focus on quality and service, allied to a huge recruitment and training campaign has enabled builders to further raise standards whilst increasing output.”