Top 3:
1. urbandale
2. Monarch
3. Richcraft
"Average": Minto and Tamarack
Among "the rest": Claridge
Ashcroft, Braebury, Tartan and Valecraft ? were not included in the rankings.
from
http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/286971738287586.php
Urbandale ranks highest in customer satisfaction among new-home buyers in the Ottawa region, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Canadian New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study.
J.D. Power, well known for its surveys of customer satisfaction in the auto sector, conducted the local survey for the first time this year. The company sent questionnaires to every buyer who took possession of a new single, semi-detached or town home during 2005, and got 984 responses. The survey did not include high-rise condos, a growing segment of Ottawa's new-home market.
Owners were asked to evaluate their builder's sales staff, design centre, home readiness, customer service, price/value, physical design, home quality and location. Of the eight factors, home readiness, customer service and home quality contribute more than 60 percent to overall satisfaction.
The study finds that nearly 60 per cent of buyers are either "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their new-home experience. Buyers were most satisfied with the location of their new home and community, and least satisfied with the price/value of both the home and the upgrades they purchased.
Overall, Ottawa builders do a "pretty reasonable job," Darren Slind, director of the survey for J.D. Power, told OttawaBusinessJournal.com in a telephone interview.
Urbandale and Monarch both received the highest overall ratings. Urbandale received top marks from customers in the sales staff, home quality, customer service and physical design factors. Monarch closely follows Urbandale in the overall rankings and receives the highest ratings from new-home buyers in home readiness, price/value and location. Richcraft ranks third overall and performed particularly well in the design centre experience.
Minto and Tamarack received "average" rankings while Claridge Homes ranked among "the rest" in the survey.
Four smaller builders ? Ashcroft, Braebury, Tartan and Valecraft ? were not included in the rankings. In each case, there were not enough responses to produce a statistically-valid result, Mr. Slind says.
The survey also suggests local builders have a hot new competitor on their doorstep. Mattamy Homes of Toronto, which has just begun work on a new development near Scotiabank Place, scored the top overall ranking in the Greater Toronto market. Mattamy's performance was "impressive by any measure" says Mr. Slind.
The study also highlights several practices that builders can implement to enhance customer satisfaction. Offering customers tours of their home during construction and delivering the home when promised or earlier both have a significant impact on overall satisfaction.
In addition, highly satisfied buyers will recommend their builder to nearly twice as many people as those whose satisfaction is just "average."
"Getting on the consideration list of potential buyers will be of great concern for all builders, especially if market conditions soften, and the balance of power shifts from builder to buyer," says Mr. Slind. "Builders with highly satisfied customers will definitely differentiate themselves from their competitors."
1. urbandale
2. Monarch
3. Richcraft
"Average": Minto and Tamarack
Among "the rest": Claridge
Ashcroft, Braebury, Tartan and Valecraft ? were not included in the rankings.
from
http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/286971738287586.php
Urbandale ranks highest in customer satisfaction among new-home buyers in the Ottawa region, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Canadian New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study.
J.D. Power, well known for its surveys of customer satisfaction in the auto sector, conducted the local survey for the first time this year. The company sent questionnaires to every buyer who took possession of a new single, semi-detached or town home during 2005, and got 984 responses. The survey did not include high-rise condos, a growing segment of Ottawa's new-home market.
Owners were asked to evaluate their builder's sales staff, design centre, home readiness, customer service, price/value, physical design, home quality and location. Of the eight factors, home readiness, customer service and home quality contribute more than 60 percent to overall satisfaction.
The study finds that nearly 60 per cent of buyers are either "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their new-home experience. Buyers were most satisfied with the location of their new home and community, and least satisfied with the price/value of both the home and the upgrades they purchased.
Overall, Ottawa builders do a "pretty reasonable job," Darren Slind, director of the survey for J.D. Power, told OttawaBusinessJournal.com in a telephone interview.
Urbandale and Monarch both received the highest overall ratings. Urbandale received top marks from customers in the sales staff, home quality, customer service and physical design factors. Monarch closely follows Urbandale in the overall rankings and receives the highest ratings from new-home buyers in home readiness, price/value and location. Richcraft ranks third overall and performed particularly well in the design centre experience.
Minto and Tamarack received "average" rankings while Claridge Homes ranked among "the rest" in the survey.
Four smaller builders ? Ashcroft, Braebury, Tartan and Valecraft ? were not included in the rankings. In each case, there were not enough responses to produce a statistically-valid result, Mr. Slind says.
The survey also suggests local builders have a hot new competitor on their doorstep. Mattamy Homes of Toronto, which has just begun work on a new development near Scotiabank Place, scored the top overall ranking in the Greater Toronto market. Mattamy's performance was "impressive by any measure" says Mr. Slind.
The study also highlights several practices that builders can implement to enhance customer satisfaction. Offering customers tours of their home during construction and delivering the home when promised or earlier both have a significant impact on overall satisfaction.
In addition, highly satisfied buyers will recommend their builder to nearly twice as many people as those whose satisfaction is just "average."
"Getting on the consideration list of potential buyers will be of great concern for all builders, especially if market conditions soften, and the balance of power shifts from builder to buyer," says Mr. Slind. "Builders with highly satisfied customers will definitely differentiate themselves from their competitors."
