Over 40 developers receive highest rating in latest annual survey
The National New Homes Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS) from the HBF, NHBC and Homes for Scotland has revealed that 90% of customers would recommend their housebuilder to a friend.
The survey also revealed that 85% of respondents would buy from their same housebuilder again.
The survey, which covers from October 2021 to September 2022, saw 41 developers receiving the highest five-star rating.
In total, 99,726 questionnaires were issued and 60,655 returned, resulting in an “extremely strong” response rate of 60%.
The survey results revealed that 88% were satisfied with the quality of their home, 92% were happy with the internal design of their home, and 71% said the number of snagging items was in line with or less than expected.
To have 90% of consumers recommending you is a fantastic achievement and demonstrates the industry’s overwhelming commitment to delivering high levels of customer service.
Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman, home builders federation
This year’s survey shows the vast majority of customers are happy with their purchase and the service provided by their builder.
Market recovery continues, albeit slowly
Rightmove’s house price index for March has revealed that the value of an average property rose in the period by 0.8% to £365,357 – below the average monthly rise of 1.0% experienced in March over the last 20 years.
House prices are now around £5,800 below October 2022’s peak, with annual growth easing to 3.0% from 3.9% in February.
The beginning of the spring season sees stability and confidence continuing to return to the market as it recovers from the turbulence at the end of 2022. The pace of the market reached an unsustainable level in the last two years, and was on track to slow to a more normal level, though the speed of this slowdown to more normality was accelerated by the reaction to September’s mini-Budget.
Tim Bannister, Director of Property Science, Rightmove
First-time buyers are leading the recovery, with sales in the sector improving at the fastest pace, with easing mortgage rates seeing a fall in the average monthly amount spend on a home.
Meanwhile, official figures reveal a slowdown in annual house price growth in January, falling from 9.3% in December to 6.3% a month later.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) places the average house price at £290,000 – a £17,000 increase on January 2022.
Northern Ireland enjoyed the highest annual house price growth, with the average property increasing in value by 10.2%, followed by England (6.9%), Wales (5.8%) and Scotland (1.0%).
In England, the North East saw house prices increase by 10% in the year, leading all regions. London was the region with the lowest annual growth, at 3.2%
Vistry announces strong results amid plans to reopen timber frame factory
Developer Vistry has published its full year 2022 results, upgrading its profit forecast for 2023 whilst announcing a 21% increase in pre-tax profit to £418m and a 14% increase in revenue to £3bn.
In an upbeat announcement, Chief Executive Greg Fitzgerald also confirmed that the group was committed to reopen a previously-mothballed timber frame factory in the East Midlands.
Meanwhile, Taylor Wimpey has committed to achieving net zero by 2045; five years ahead of the government’s 2050 target.
The volume housebuilder has published a ‘four-stage’ roadmap, developed with the Carbon Trust, to set out how this will be achieved.
Crest Nicholson also published a positive trading update this week, announcing that its sales per outlet per week had improved from 0.35 in the 11 weeks after 01 November last year to 0.52 in the past 11 weeks.
The developer described the improvement as reflecting the “ongoing and steady recovery in overall consumer confidence and housing market activity since the start of the year.”
Housing View 