2007 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study

If you want to build your new home, you certainly want to make sure you’ve done your homework in choosing a builder, especially considering the enormous investment in time and money the project entails. And, let’s face it, given a choice, most of us prefer to buy brand new. But there’s nothing as devastating as signing on the dotted line, investing your life’s savings (and what you can borrow from the bank) and running into obstacle after obstacle with your chosen builder. Do any of the following problems sound familiar?

• The builder’s warranty is vague or doesn’t cover exactly what goes wrong with your home construction.


• Customer service is spotty at best, insufficient or unhelpful, and phone calls aren’t returned promptly.


• Your construction manager has an attitude, is unresponsive, or perhaps is easy-going, but nothing gets done to your satisfaction or expectation.


• The builder’s sales staff is distracted, disorganized, and unavailable, and there’s absolutely no follow up.


• Your home readiness date is constantly pushed back by unanticipated delays.

In fact, these cover the top five issues in the most critical areas of customer satisfaction with new-home builders, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study,^SM now in its 11th year. The study, which ranks builders in 34 separate housing markets across the U.S., is based on responses from 50,399 buyers of newly-built, single-family homes after they’ve lived in their homes from 4-18 months, on average. The typical buyer reports about 13 problems with their new home—mostly construction problems like landscaping, quality and finish of kitchen cabinets, or heating and air conditioning. While the problems reported vary by market, they have decreased by 7 percent over last year’s study.

Let’s take a closer look at the 2007 study’s top-performing new-home builders in customer satisfaction. In your area, you may want to choose one of them if you are planning to purchase a new home, but keep in mind that this article covers regional markets.

Ranking highest in 14 of the 34 markets included in the 2007 study (the most of any builder in this year’s study), Centex Homes, based in Dallas, TX, has been a leading home builder for the past 50 years. Centex also holds the No. 2 spot in 9 markets and the No. 3 ranking in 4 markets. Centex operates in 25 states, with more than 947 single-family, condominium, townhome and resort home neighborhoods in 72 national locations. In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, Centex delivered more than 39,000 homes.

Pulte Homes, of Bloomfield Hills, MI, operates in 52 markets across 27 states and has built more than 500,000 homes in its 57-year history. In the 2007 study, Pulte achieves the highest ranking in 11 of 34 markets (including its Del Webb and DiVosta brands). In addition, Pulte ranks No. 2 in 9 markets and No. 3 in 6 markets. This marks the eighth consecutive year that Pulte Homes has been among the study’s top-performing home builders.

John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, with corporate offices in Atlanta, builds homes ranging in price from $200,000 to more than $600,000 in the Atlanta, GA; Raleigh and Charlotte, NC; Charleston, SC; and Nashville, TN, markets. They are also the highest-ranked new-home builder in customer satisfaction in the 2007 study in the Atlanta market and tied with Mattamy in Charlotte.

Shea Homes, the nation’s largest privately-held builder, has been building homes since 1881. The Shea family of companies has participated in some extraordinary urban development projects, including San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART), and the Hoover Dam. Currently, Shea builds homes throughout California, Arizona, Colorado, Washington and North Carolina. Shea is the top-ranked new-home builder in San Diego, CA, and the Denver/Colorado Springs, CO, region in the 2007 study. The company also holds the No. 2 ranking in 1 market and is No. 3 in 2 markets. Additionally, Trilogy by Shea Homes, an active adult community, ranks highest in customer satisfaction among the largest active-adult community home builders, according to the study.

Other builders topping market rankings in the study include:

• David Weekley Homes—Texas’ largest homebuilder and the nation’s third largest privately held builder, David Weekley Homes builds in 18 cities from Colorado to the Carolinas. Tied with Centex in the Austin, TX market for the No. 1 ranking, the builder also holds the No. 3 position in 2 markets.


• Mattamy Homes—Jacksonville, FL,-based Mattamy Homes is tied for the No. 1 position with John Wieland Homes in the Charlotte, NC, market. Mattamy also holds the No. 3 spot in 1 market.


• Granville Homes—Central California family-owned and operated, Granville Homes has been building houses for 25 years. Granville is the market leader in Fresno, CA.


• Standard Pacific Homes—A Southern California-based builder since 1965, Standard Pacific builds homes in 8 states (CA, FL, AZ, NC, SC, TX, CO, NV and IL). The company is the market leader in Orange County, CA, holds the No. 2 spot in 1 market, and nabs the No. 3 spot in 1 market.


• Huntington Homes—Family-owned Huntington Homes is a Dallas-based luxury homebuilder, building 3-5 bedroom homes in 6 communities in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Huntington is the market leader in Dallas/Ft. Worth.


• Tim Lewis Communities—A Northern California builder with homes in the Sacramento area, Tim Lewis Communities is the market leader in Sacramento in the 2007 study, improving upon its No. 2 ranking in 2006.


• Van Metre Homes—Headquartered in Springfield, VA, and the market leader in the Greater Washington D.C. area in the 2007 study, Van Metre has been building homes since 1955.

Nine Factors Drive Overall Satisfaction with Home Builders % Contribution to Overall Satisfaction
Builder’s Warranty/Customer Service	16%
Construction Manager	15%
Builder’s Sales Staff	13%
Home Readiness	13%
Price/Value	12%
Workmanship/Materials	10%
Recreational Facilities	8%
Builder’s Design Center	7%
Location	5%
Source: J.D. Power and Associates 2007 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction StudySM