S.A. home buyers less satisfied
In national survey, city falls from 10th to 31st. Homeowners here went from being generally thrilled last year to among the least-satisfied customers in the country this year, according to a report released Wednesday by J.D. Power and Associates. San Antonio customers reported more problems in their houses -- an average of 15.75 this year compared with 12.74 last year.  Nationally, though, the quality of home building improved. Typical home buyers found 14 problems with their home,..The country's happiest home buyers were in Minneapolis, where people reported an average of seven problems per home.  Gordon Hartman ranked last in customer satisfaction.

S.A. home buyers less satisfied
In national survey, city falls from 10th to 31st.

by Jennifer Hiller
EXPRESS-NEWS BUSINESS WRITER 

San Antonio residents aren't as happy with their new houses as they were a year ago — a slip in customer satisfaction probably due to the unusually high volume of home building in 2006 and the builders' rush to finish those jobs.

Homeowners here went from being generally thrilled last year to among the least-satisfied customers in the country this year, according to a report released Wednesday by J.D. Power and Associates.

The city ranks 31st out of 34 U.S. building markets in customer satisfaction.

Last year, San Antonio ranked 10th.

The study surveys home buyers who have lived in their houses for four to 18 months, so many would have bought a house during the height of San Antonio's biggest-ever building frenzy in 2006.

That builders rushed to push out thousands more houses than usual could help explain why customer satisfaction dipped, said Paula Sonkin, vice president of real estate and construction industries with J.D. Power and Associates.

If a home builder increases production from 200 to 400 houses, for example, Sonkin said the quality of customer service and building is likely to take a dive.

San Antonio customers reported more problems in their houses -- an average of 15.75 this year compared with 12.74 last year.

San Antonio had an average satisfaction rating of 102 this year out of 166, compared with a national average of 111.

This past year San Antonio's satisfaction rating was 117.

Nationally, though, the quality of home building improved. Typical home buyers found 14 problems with their home, 7 percent fewer than reported the year before.

"It's really a very small minority that are unhappy," Sonkin said.

In San Antonio, several builders were celebrating their high customer rankings.

For the second year, Centex Homes ranked the highest in customer satisfaction among San Antonio's new home buyers, coming out well ahead of the national average with a ranking of 126.

Centex Mortgage, which serves Centex Homes, also ranked at the top of a study of builder-owned mortgage companies.

Pulte Homes was ranked second in customer satisfaction and Medallion Homes was ranked third.

Medallion Homes and Pulte Homes also tied for the top spot in the new-house quality survey, which considers construction problems in new houses.

William Worth, president and CEO of the San Antonio-based Medallion Homes, said the company was thrilled to be at or near the top of several of the study's categories.

The company had ranked in the middle of the pack this past year, but made a big effort to improve its customer relations, Worth said.

"It caused us to look at some of the things we do in terms of service. We looked at those things and made some changes," he said.

In the new-home design category, Pulte Homes ranked highest, followed by Medallion Homes and Centex Homes.

"It's extremely satisfying to be recognized by our homeowners for our ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction," said Laurin Darnell, president of Pulte Homes' San Antonio division, in a statement.

The country's happiest home buyers were in Minneapolis, where people reported an average of seven problems per home.

The least-satisfied home buyers are found in Washington, D.C., with an average of 19 problems per home. Dallas builders ranked the highest among Texas cities, and San Antonio was the only city that fell below the national average in customer satisfaction.

The J.D. Power and Associates 2007 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study considered the responses of 50,401 home buyers in 34 U.S. cities.

The survey is in its 11th year, but this is just the second year that San Antonio has been included.

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