Medallion Homes Tops J.D. Power New Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study

September 10, 2008

Even in the face of a challenging environment marked by declining new-home prices and notably high inventory levels, many home builders are succeeding in significantly improving overall customer satisfaction in 2008, compared with 2007, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study released today.

Overall customer satisfaction averages 779 on a 1,000-point scale in 2008, up 38 points from 7411 since 2007. Markets experiencing the largest customer satisfaction improvements include Palm Beach, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; and Albuquerque, N.M. In addition, overall satisfaction has increased in 28 of the 29 individual markets that were also surveyed in 2007.

“Home builders have adapted well to changes in the market that have necessitated a shift from an order-taking mode to an intensified focus on sales service and negotiation with prospective home buyers,” said Paula Sonkin, vice president of the real estate and construction industries practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “What is particularly impressive is that many home builders in areas where sales and home values have been most negatively impacted by local market conditions—for example, Nevada, California and Florida—fare well in the study, with the majority of markets in these states performing above the 33-market average.”

“Strong home-building companies have recognized the importance of offering superior product quality, delivering homes on time and providing skilled sales staff in order to excel in hypercompetitive markets,” said Sonkin. “With more negotiation occurring during the sales process, home buyers are receiving larger sales incentives. In addition, upgraded features that used to be considered options—such as granite countertops—are now being included as standard, which increases the perceived value of the home and subsequently results in increased satisfaction. With new-home prices on the decline in many areas, as well as larger inventories and renewed efforts of home builders to truly delight customers, it’s a great time for consumers to consider buying a new home.”

The San Antonio Market results are below: