For the key question on which the company star ratings are based, 91% of respondents said that they would recommend their builder to a friend, up 2% on the previous year and 7% in the past four years. The industry achieved a Net Promoter Score of 42 from the survey, up 3 points on last year.

Other notable scores include; 80% of people said that they were satisfied with their builder in relation to their home being completed on time – this is depsite there being inevitable delays to the construction and sales processes as a result of coronavirus; 84% satisfied with the service during the sales process; 83% satisfied with the condition of their home when they moved.

Over 81% of those polled said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the service provided by the builder after they had moved in- which again will have been impacted by coronavirus and the fact builders could not access customers homes for a period.

The design of new builds scores highly with 94% satisfied with the internal design of their new home and 89% with the external design.

New homes are complex, bespoke products and 94% of people reported a ‘snag‘ to their builder. This is in line with expectations as builders encourage buyers to do so upon moving in and are then required to fix them. Most are very minor such as paint drips, cupboard doors out of line etc. Over 70% of people said the number of snags they reported was less than or about what they expected.

Overall, 92% of buyers said they would buy a new build home again.

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of HF said;

“The survey demonstrates that the industry is delivering an excellent level of service in the opinion of over 90% of its customers. The fact that we have seen four successive years of improved satisfaction levels shows the clear focus builders have been putting on the customer. That this level of satisfaction has been delivered during a pandemic that saw sites closed and builders unable to access homes for a period makes it even more of an achievement. The industry remains committed to maintaining the significant progress of recent years and fully supports moves to put an independent New Homes Ombudsman in place to strengthen customer protections and continue to drive up standards.”