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Pulte Homes and Centex Homes ranked highest in the largest number of markets in the latest New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study released by J.D. Power and Associates. It was the sixth straight year Pulte received the most awards among the nation's largest builder companies.
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Pulte, Centex fare best in customer satisfaction survey
NATIONAL REPORT - Pulte Homes and Centex Homes ranked highest in the largest number of markets in the latest New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study released by J.D. Power and Associates. It was the sixth straight year Pulte received the most awards among the nation's largest builder companies.
SURVEY SAYS: Builders' warranties and customer service ranked as the most important factors in home buyer satisfaction.
The 2005 study, which is based on feedback from 73,353 buyers who have lived in newly built single-family homes from four to 18 months on average, includes satisfaction ratings of builders in 30 of the largest U.S. home building markets. In addition to the nation's largest metros, Albuquerque, N.M.; Portland, Ore.; and Baltimore were added to this year's study.
Pulte, including its Del Webb and DiVosta brands, ranked highest in 16 of 30 markets - up from 14 out of 25 markets last year - while Centex, including its Fox & Jacobs brand, ranked highest in 10 markets, up from three markets in 2004. Pulte operations ranked among the top three builders in 22 of the 27 markets where they were polled.
"These rankings are based on direct customer input, so it's truly gratifying to once again be recognized as the nation's top-ranked home builder," Richard Dugas, president and CEO at Pulte, said in. a statement.
The J.D. Powers study also showed that among the top ten drivers of satisfaction, builders' warranties and customer service was weighted most, accounting for 20 percent of a home buyer's satisfaction level. Home readiness was second, while price was the sixth most influential factor.
The study also indicated that the construction manager position has emerged as a driver of overall customer satisfaction with home builders as consumers become increasingly savvier to the building process. "In years past, the construction manager worked primarily behind the scenes with little interaction with homeowners," said Paula Sonkin, executive director of the real estate industries practice at J.D. Power. "Today, builders realize that everyone involved in the building process - from the salespeople to the construction staff - are representatives of the company."
That finding is crucial as the study also found that sincerely happy home buyers - those who rated their builder a 10 on a 10-point scale - go on to recommend that builder to nearly twice as many people compared with the average new-home buyer.
Copyright Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. Oct 3, 2005