SR374 New House Owners' Satisfaction Survey 2016 (December 2019)

This report presents the results of the sixth annual New House Owners’ Satisfaction Survey. The survey looks at how new house owners rate their builder and how satisfied they are with the builder’s performance. The survey covers a sample of New Zealand’s housing consents. It excludes spec builds (a house built without a specific committed buyer) and houses built by family members.

Results show that the industry is continuing to improve. Average scores were up by 0.9% nationally. Owners are rating their builder highly on their ability to deliver a quality home with a good standard of finish. However, there remains room for improvement in the service provided after handover, particularly around the fixing of defects.

Overall, 82% of respondents reported having to call back their builder to fix defects after first occupancy. Most respondents were not surprised by the number of defects in their new home, indicating that builders are doing well to communicate the challenges of building a new home to their clients.