Customer Survey

By far the biggest concern for private home owners is the effect on re-sale values.
There is a belief that rented home tenants don´t look after their property.
Higher socio-economic groups are more open-minded.
If affordable housing is designed and built to blend in with private it is more acceptable.
There is a developing awareness that affordable housing is needed for key workers in expensive areas.

Consumers appreciate the mix of housing design and size on modern housing developments.
Car parking is seen as a real problem. Rather than making the environment safer, narrow roads, lack of parking and subsequent traffic problems are perceived as making some developments quite dangerous.
Footpaths and cycle ways are seen as an improvement.
There is a feeling that homes are being crammed in these days for the benefit of the developers.
Developers need to sell the PPG3 concept to their customers. Where the researchers found home owners who had had the concepts explained to them, there was a marked pride in the development and an understanding that this is the way forward.
Higher socio-economic groups are more open-minded about new planning guidelines.

Today´s busy lifestyles make developing a sense of community more difficult. However most people still want to feel part of a community.
Community facilities should be considered first rather than last. Although economically a problem for housebuilders, play areas, community halls and village centres must be provided earlier in the life of a development (Camborne, Cambridge is a good example of how it can be done).
However, home buyers do not understand the concept of planning gain. Housebuilders need to better market the positive community benefits that can arise from the development process.
Local shops are an essential part of a community. This is especially true in inner city areas.

External design is recognised as much improved over the last few years.
Layouts and road patterns cause parking and traffic problems.
Garden sizes are adequate.
Garages are essential.
Space for dining is necessary but doesn´t always have to be in the form of a separate dining room.
People are using dining rooms and spare bedrooms for a variety of things.
House builders are still not providing enough facilities for accommodating new technology.
3 bedroom "family homes" are considered too small for families.
Some singles or couples have to buy four bedroom homes in order to gain what they consider to be adequate living space.

Only 9% of respondents would definitely not consider buying a new home.
27% would exclusively consider buying a new home. The greatest competition therefore comes not from cross selling between developers, but from the second hand market.

House buying is a very infrequent purchase, even when compared with other high-ticket items such as cars.
The marketing budgets of even the largest builders are relatively small when compared with, for example, motor manufacturers.
New homes do not carry brand names.
'New homes’ appears to be the brand in consumer minds.

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