New Home Builder Ratings in Northern VA, 2010

Building a new home in Northern VA can be confusing for home buyers and is the reason it’s important for buyers to be armed with the right information and new home REALTOR. Rating new home builders in Northern VA is a difficult task since there are many aspects to building and completing the sale of a home. A resource that gives a good starting point is the 2010 Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Ratings and 2010 Home Builder Quality Ratings for the Northern Va area conducted by JD Power. The builders included in this ranking are what I call large production home builders and not custom builders. Custom home building is a different process, if you are looking for a custom home builder check out this article about custom home builders in Fairfax County.

These ratings are based from surveys of new home buyers who have recently purchased a home in the Washington DC market which includes Northern VA real estate buyers. In order to be eligible, builders have to first close a minimum of 150 homes in the respective market along with other specific qualifications that will be discussed later. There have been some changes since my 2009 ratings of new home builders including the addition of many builders that were absent from the 2009 home builder ratings. These Northern Va home builders that have been included in this year are Brookfield Homes, D.R. Horton, Stanley Martin Homes and K Hovnanian.

The 2010 New Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study is a in-depth survey into 9 aspects of new builder customer service including home quality; builder's warranty/customer service staff; price/value; builder's sales staff; construction manager; home readiness; recreational facilities provided by the builder; builder's design center; and location. The Northern VA new builder with the best customer satisfaction for 2010 was M/I Homes taking the top spot from last year’s winner Pulte Homes. Other home builders Ryan Homes and Ryland Homes where not far behind in the survey. The overall customer satisfaction for all home builders increased again for a third year straight. With an economy that continues to struggle and a buyer’s market in Northern VA, new home builders are working harder to satisfy buyers. The home builders that brought up the rear in home builder customer satisfaction were Stanley Martin Homes, D.R. Horton and Brookfield Homes which are all also new to the survey this year. Let’s hope this year’s merger of Centex Homes by Pulte Homes has not negatively affected the quality of Pulte and improves both brands survey.


The 2010 Home Builder Quality Ratings is the second survey that home buyers should note when searching for a new home builder in Northern VA. This study takes into consideration the number of problems that take place in a new home and the severity of the problem involved. The study pinpoints and designates 41 categories including bathroom; drywall; electrical/appliances; flooring/stairs; home exterior; interior paint; kitchen; windows/doors; and other possible significant problem areas. The builder that prevailed as the best for new home builder quality in Northern Va area was M/I Homes, taking the top spot from last year’s winner Winchester Homes. They were followed closely in quality by Ryland Homes, and Pulte Homes who both won in one other market. Keep in mind for builders to qualify only needed 50 completed surveys are needed, so these results can vary dramatically with one bad survey.


The economy and the real estate meltdown have been difficult on all those businesses associated to real estate in Northern VA including New Home Builders. Taking this and all the other market conditions into consideration, many builders pricing can be negotiated. Visit this article for more information on the building process and negotiating with new home builders in Northern VA. These ratings should be used as one of many tools when buying in a new home community in Northern Va. There are so many aspects to purchasing from a new home builder and these survey results should not be the only resource. The best advice should come from a new home REALTOR who is a new home builder expert in Northern VA, contact me. The best thing about having a new home agent like me by your side is the builder pays the commission, visit who pays the commission.



Joey Remondino has been featured on CBS, Washington Post, WUSA Channel 9, and Washingtonian as a Real Estate Expert and is a full time Realtor and Broker with StoneHouse Realty Inc. specializing in residential real estate in Northern Virginia including Vienna, Centreville, Chantilly, Falls Church, Gainesville, Mclean, Reston, Great Falls, Alexandria, Manassas, Manassas Park, Prince William, and Fairfax Counties to name a few. Trained and experienced expert in Estate Homes, New Home Sales, Relocation, and commercial real estate.

Joey can guide you through any real estate buying or selling process, contact me.

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