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NewsArticle-13-09-2011

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Customer satisfaction levels at record highs for Scottish new home buyers

Scottish home builders have delivered record levels of customer satisfaction a recent survey of new home buyers shows.

This is the finding of research undertaken by the National House Building Council (NHBC) with the results for Scottish homeowners analysed for industry body Homes for Scotland.

The research shows that some 90 per cent of customers were very or fairly satisfied with the service provided by their builder during the buying process as well as the overall quality of their home. The same number would also recommend their builder to a friend.

The news is a warmly welcomed boost for builders who have been hard hit by the impact of the credit crunch and follow recent figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showing that the number and volume of loans for house purchases in Scotland rose by more than the UK as a whole in the second quarter of 2011 at 36 per cent and 42 per cent respectively.

Homes for Scotland Chief Executive Jonathan Fair (right) said:

“Despite the difficult economic backdrop, people still need to get on with their lives. With rents at their highest levels in years, the news on mortgages and satisfaction should therefore be a great boost for anyone looking to buy or move to a new home – whether out of necessity or desire, it clearly can be done to your satisfaction! 

“Indeed, a high level of customer satisfaction is one of the key benefits of buying a new build home over a secondhand property since no-one bothers to ensure you’re happy following the purchase of an older house. 

“Whilst lower house prices have improved affordability across the board, new build customers also benefit from a range of valuable assistance measures (such as help with deposits, tailored mortgage solutions, part exchange, shared equity, redundancy cover) that are simply not available in the second-hand market. And these can really make the difference between moving or not.

“When you also consider continuing low interest rates, the significant energy savings, the protection of a ten year warranty and Consumer Code, there’s actually never been a better time to buy a new home."

This message is also reinforced by Scottish Government housing statistics showing continuing drops in housing production. Fair warned that the underlying trend in the housing market was of massive undersupply with new households in Scotland projected to form at an annual rate of nearly 20,000 over the next 20 or so years whilst build rates are at their lowest since 19311 and said: 

“Even before the current downturn, housing production was nowhere near enough to meet this growing need. This will inevitably put upward pressure on prices when the recovery picks up so this is another very sound reason not to put off a move."

Director of NHBC Scotland Malcolm MacLeod commented:

“It is very pleasing to see these excellent results for new home buyers in Scotland and they certainly illustrate the commitment of Scottish builders to deliver high quality new homes. NHBC runs the industry survey to provide benchmarked data on satisfaction and this feedback is proving invaluable to builders in helping them meet the needs of their customers.”

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