Before & After

Before getting into the data, it’s important to review a few specifics on this year’s survey. The research was conducted through National Family Opinion. The nine-page questionnaire was mailed to 1200 households, and 997 of them were returned, for an 83.1% response rate.

Of those responding, 64% had purchased a newly constructed home in the past year and 36% planned to buy a new home within a year. Among the first group, 29.6% were first-time home buyers and the remaining 70.4% had owned a home before, though their most recent purchase was a newly built home.

Information Gathering
Consumers have more access to more information about new homes and new home builders than ever before, and they’re using it. For the first time in PB’s consumer survey history, we measured the effect of the Internet on the new home buying process. While only one in 10 consumers found their new home via the Web, 44.3% reported going to the Internet at least once a week to research their housing options. Slightly less than a quarter of new home buyers surveyed never visited the Internet.

In addition, new home buyers are also using the Internet to research the products that might go into their new homes. Slightly more than half of all new home buyers used websites to collect product information. The respondents’ top five most trafficked product websites in descending order are appliances, plumbing fixtures and faucets, windows, floors and floor coverings and lighting.

Buying Influences

In this most recent edition of the consumer survey, we again asked buyers to define the most important reasons for selecting their newly constructed home.

Among the 20-plus possibilities, the top 10 for non-first time buyers were:

1. Floor plan/layout of the interior...........80.1%

2. Good design of the home...................72.9%

3. Size (number of rooms)...................... 70.9%

4. Style and appearance........................65.2%

5. Quality home......................................63.4%

6. Price/affordability...............................55.8%

7. Number of bathrooms.........................49.4%

8. Size of yard/lot...................................47.0%

9. Good Investment...............................43.3%

10. More modern amenities/features.....40.0%

Among first-time home buyers, the same top 10 list is as follows:

1&2. Floor plan/layout of the interior and Price/ affordability...........70.4%

3. Size (number of rooms)...............................................................62.9%

4. Style and appearance................................................................58.6%

5. Good design of the home...........................................................57.0%

6. Quality home..............................................................................52.2%

7. Good Investment.......................................................................50.0%

8. Number of bathrooms................................................................47.3%

9. Mortgage interest rates..............................................................45.2%

10. Size of yard/lot........................................................................37.1%

Important to both buying groups was the opportunity to customize their new home. Roughly 60% of those surveyed had input into the brand selections of various products and features in their new home. Nine out of 10 reported they were able to substitute their preferred brand instead of using the builder’s standard brand. However, 68.1% of new home buyers said the builder offered these alternative brands as options and upgrades.

Quality Expectations

On the business-building side of satisfied customers - the likelihood the homeowner would refer other buyers to the builder - the news was equally positive. Almost 40% of the survey respondents agreed with the statement that they were "very likely" to refer the builder to other buyers. Another 41% of buyers agreed, responding that they would be "somewhat likely" and "likely" to refer.

Going one step further, the survey asked a question that gauged the importance of those referrals. When new home buyers registered the relative importance of a builder’s reputation in selecting who would build their new home, 96% said it was "very" to "somewhat" important.

These consumer preferences indicate a trend toward increased expectations from buyers - in features, in information availability, in quality, in satisfaction. And those expectations will go even higher when and if the economic climate retreats for awhile.

Sidebar:
New Home Basics