SR421 New House Owners' Satisfaction Survey 2018 (February 2020)

This report presents the results of the eighth 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 house owners’ satisfaction with their builders has held relatively steady, falling from 62% in 2017 to 61% of owners rating their builder as satisfactory. 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. Disputes over cost remain prevalent.

Overall, 80% of respondents reported having to call back their builder to fix defects after first occupancy. Respondents were split down the middle in relation to the number of defects – 49% saw defects as expected or fewer than expected and the remaining 51% expected no defects or had more defects. This is a possible indication that clients are becoming more discerning around defects or that the industry could look to improve communicating the challenges of building a new home in the current market.