IDI Group Tops Poll of New-Home Buyers 

By Daniela Deane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 21, 2002; Page H01 
 

The most satisfied new-home buyers in the Washington area are those who bought from IDI Group Cos., which builds primarily condos in the Leisure World complexes in Silver Spring and Leesburg, a new survey shows.

J.D. Power and Associates, the California research firm best known for its rankings of car-buyer satisfaction, polled the customers of 22 of the largest builders in the Washington area. Buyers who had lived in their homes from four to 18 months were interviewed for the survey.

Behind IDI came a smaller Frederick-based builder, Ausherman Homes, which won the top slot last year. In third place was NV Homes, a subsidiary of NVR Inc., the area's largest builder. Only builders of at least 150 homes a year were included in the survey.

"It doesn't matter if you're a large national builder or a small local builder, you can still do well," said Paula Sonkin, senior director of real estate practices at J.D. Power and Associates. "What makes a difference is the level of customer service that builders provide, how well they deliver on what they promise, regardless of the price of the home."

The survey showed that overall customer satisfaction with area builders had improved significantly over the past year, which Sonkin attributed to a highly competitive marketplace where builders are realizing they can differentiate themselves from builders that offer similar products by focusing on customer service.

"With the housing market continuing to sizzle across the United States and interest rates at the lowest we've seen in decades, competition in the home-building industry is intensifying," Sonkin said.

Arlington-based IDI, founded in 1975 by Giuseppe Cecchi, an Italian immigrant who helped build the Watergate complex in Washington, builds about 300 low- and high-rise condominium units a year, most of them at Leisure World complexes in Maryland and Virginia.

The company's condos sell for $140,000 to $450,000. IDI often develops entire communities, such as those at Leisure World, where golf courses, tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, bowling alleys, and biking and nature trails are built alongside the high-rise condo buildings.

"We're delighted" about the survey, said John Heller, assistant to Cecchi, IDI's president. "This came out of the blue for us. We had no idea we were being included in the survey."

Heller said the company sells primarily to the active-adult market, mostly "upscale buyers," 55 and older. "This age group knows what they're looking for, and they're not happy if they don't get good service," he said.

The study's scores are made up of nine factors driving overall customer satisfaction with a builder.

The most important factors are customer service, home readiness (the timely completion of the home), the sales staff and the quality of workmanship and materials.

The same builders have tended to do well -- and poorly -- in the three years that the Washington market has been included in the survey.

For example, luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. has ranked below the Washington average all three years. And NVR has had a subsidiary in the top three slots all three years.

"High-ranking builders tend to rank consistently high," Sonkin said.

"It's because they're focused on customer satisfaction, and they continue to provide a high level over time."

Behind IDI, Ausherman and NV Homes, the builders that ranked at or above average locally in customer satisfaction were Pulte Homes, Winchester Homes, Ryan Homes, Miller & Smith, Ryland Homes, M/I Homes, Drees Homes, US Home and Beazer Homes.

The builders that ranked below the industry average are, in alphabetical order, Atlantic Builders, Centex, Coscan Brookfield, Engle, Hylton Group, K. Hovnanian, Richmond American, Toll Brothers, Van Metre and Washington Homes.
 

© 2002 The Washington Post Company