SR308 New House Owners' Satisfaction Survey 2013 (2019)

A survey of new house owners was undertaken to determine how highly they rated their builder and how satisfied they were with the builder’s performance. The survey’s response rate was about 27% and covered a sample of New Zealand’s housing consents in New Zealand where the owner did not build their own house.

This report shows the results of the survey. It covers the new house owner’s satisfaction with the builder, the build process and their new home, as well as the quality of their home, how the new house owner rates their builder, designer and their home, input into the design of the home, how the builder was chosen, disputes over final costs, call backs, home sprinkler systems, sustainability features and recommendations.

New house owners were generally most satisfied with the overall quality of their home and least satisfied with the service provided by their builder after moving in. They rated the standard of finish of their new home highest, but the fixing of defects after first occupancy rated lowest. 73% of respondents had to call back their builder to repair defects after first occupancy. This rate was even higher for the Auckland and Canterbury regions where building activity is particularly strong and workloads are likely more demanding.