Pulte tops customer satisfaction rankings: study

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The housing downturn has forced U.S. home builders to improve customer service, resulting in the highest-ever overall customer satisfaction level as measured by an annual survey.

Overall customer satisfaction averaged 779 on a 1,000-point scale, up 38 points from 2007. That is the highest level ever in the 12 years marketing services firm J.D. Power and Associates has been conducting its New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study.

During the boom years, the builders' sales staff needed only to take orders, not actually sell homes, J.D. Power vice-president Paula Sonkin told Reuters.

"In the past, it's been take it or leave it. Every sale counts now," she said.

The increasing importance of the sales staff, which this year is tied for first in customer's priorities and last year was tied for third, reflects the broader trend, Sonkin said. "The builders realized that they have to do something about customer satisfaction as a differentiator between competitors."

Pulte Homes and its DiVosta and Del Webb brands dominated the rankings, appearing as one of the top three builders in 17 of the study's 33 markets.

The study was based on responses from 50,837 buyers of newly built single-family homes who provided written feedback between March and July 2008 after living in their homes an average of four to 18 months.

(Reporting by Helen Chernikoff; Editing by Brian Moss)