Chicago, September 17-- Customers of U.S. homebuilders were more satisfied with their houses in 2004 than a year earlier as the residential-construction industry continues to make strides in customer service, J.D. Power and Associates reported.
Overall customer satisfaction increased to 112 on the J.D. Power index from 109 in 2003. The company said satisfaction scores increased in 18 of the 20 metropolitan markets included in both the 2003 and 2004 studies, with the most notable increases seen in Minneapolis, Raleigh/Durham, N.C., Las Vegas, Austin, Texas, and Denver/Colorado Springs.
"The bar continues to be raised by builders committed to improving customer satisfaction, and the rewards come in the form of customers who are more likely to repurchase from the builder again, more likely to recommend the builder to others, and will likely tell more people about their positive experience," said Paula Sonkin, executive director of the real estate industries practice at J.D. Power.
"In this kind of market, with builders increasingly focused on exceeding customer expectations, simply staying consistent will not allow builders to remain competitive," Sonkin said.
The 2004 study is based on responses from 64,502 buyers of newly built single-family homes who provided feedback after living in their homes from four to 18 months, on average.
Among big homebuilding firms, Pulte Homes ranked highest in 14 of the 25 largest home-building markets in the United States. Pulte earned a "platinum award" from J.D. Power for its efforts; the award is given to homebuilders that are included in at least one-half of the markets surveyed, achieve above market-average scores for each division of the corporation and have an average index score that exceeds the 90th percentile of the study average.
Pulte, including its Del Webb and DiVosta brands, is the first builder to garner the award.
"Pulte Homes continues to be a standout among new-home builders, repeatedly pushing the benchmark for customer satisfaction in the markets they serve," Sonkin said. "This is particularly impressive, considering the tremendous amount of competition we're seeing in the industry."
Richard J. Dugas Jr., president and CEO of Pulte Homes, said that Pulte Homes has a comprehensive system for communicating with every customer to ensure their needs are being met. The company tracks customer feedback shortly after move-in and again at the 11-month mark.
"The difference between short-term and longer-term satisfaction is narrowing," Dugas said. "We know when customers maintain a high degree of satisfaction nearly a year after moving in, we stand a good chance that they'll become a Pulte customer for life."
Other builders ranking highest in multiple markets include Centex in three markets and Lennar Homes (including its Greystone Homes brand) in two.
