The residential construction industry is just different. Builders & developers are unlike any other manufacturer in the world, and here's why.
For almost every other product or service, customer care, brand identity and quality of the product are absolutely vital to the success of the manufacturer/service provider. Think about it; if Toyota makes cars riddled with problems (such was the case with various models last year), sales immediately go down because people have so many other options.
But with real estate, it's not that simple. Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons. Let's start with the biggest single factor in real estate, location location location! Land is in limited supply, and if you own some in a desirable location, people will want it; that's a fact. Secondly, unlike most other products, people simply don't buy homes all that often. Well, most people anyways. Even though the average number of homes a person will own in their life has doubled over the last 30 years, the length of ownership is significantly longer than any other product out there. Why is that important? Because a person will likely only buy one new home, builders don't have to worry about customer retention. Everybody needs a home, and there are plenty of other people either growing up or immigrating who will require a home in a desirable location.
If you combine these two factors, you are left with an industry that doesn't have the same competitive pressures that others do. Of course, government regulation mandates construction standards, so it's not like builders are constructing poorly built homes that are unsafe. But buying a new home isn't necessarily a simple process, and it isn't finished when the keys are handed over either.
Communication, customer service and warranty are all vital components to being satisfied with a new home purchase, and this is where it pays to do your research on a builder before deciding to buy their product.
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