New
homes development quality research
Inspector Home - Research study exposes the 'Quality Gap' in brand new homes
The best and worst are revealed
Brand new homes have between 0 and 405 defects, according to the
latest research by academics at Glasgow Caledonian University
and Inspector Home, the UK's leading snagging company for new
homes. All property sizes had wide variations on the number of
defects found, indicating that a 'Quality Gap' in the new homes
market is developing.
The figures for each property size are: one bed - best 1, worst
104; two bed - best 0, worst 195; three bed - best 8, worst 218;
four bed - best 14, worst 405; five bed - best 32, worst 298.
Inspector Home has been campaigning for higher standards in the
new homes industry for the past five years. In 2004, when the
company took a petition to the House of Commons, the average new
home had 68 defects - two years later, this figure now stands at
72. In light of these findings, the company is stepping up
pressure on the government and new homes developers to take
action.
"How can new home buyers possibly know in advance if their
property will have one defect or hundreds," says Stephen
Nancarrow, director of Inspector Home. "We know that some
developers are taking steps to improve quality, but not in
sufficient numbers to make a significant impact on the industry
as a whole. Buying a brand new home has become a quality lottery
and that is totally unacceptable."
On a more positive note, Inspector Home has awarded certificates
to those developers achieving high standards of finish
throughout 2006 and they include Bellway, David McClean, Cala,
Fairview New Homes and several other regional developers.
In addition to its work on behalf of homeowners and investors,
Inspector Home also works with developers, helping them improve
quality standards before purchase to ensure that customer
satisfaction is high. "Our aim is to improve quality in the new
homes industry," says Stephen Nancarrow, "and we will work with
all parties involved in the process to ensure that this
happens."
Email:
vanessa@inspectorhome.co.uk