Who are the best UK house builders when it comes to build quality? HomeViews collects reviews from verified residents in thousands of new build homes across the country, providing feedback on every aspect of buying, renting and living in their homes. If you’re considering buying or renting a new build, take a look at our rankings to see which developers build to the highest standards.
How do UK house builders rank on build quality?
Build quality is understandably one of the key considerations for buyers and renters when deciding where to live. Having confidence in the build quality of your home can relieve fears of snagging problems and put your mind at ease when it comes to maintenance costs. On average, build quality receives the third-highest ratings for buyers in the ‘buying experience’ HomeViews review categories.
This puts it behind build timetable and customer service ratings, but above aftersales care. Interestingly, Shared Owners tend to rate the build quality of their developments higher than buyers on HomeViews.
Which regions have the best build quality?
Build quality scores vary for new build homes according to their region. For new-build buyers, London, with its wealth of luxury developments, rates the highest for build quality.
The Midlands ranks second-highest and East of England third. Developments in the South and North of England are fourth and fifth respectively.
The top 10 UK house builders for build quality*
So, which of the UK’s new home builders rank best for build quality? Take a look at our rankings below, to help guide your new build property search. The list is based on our 2024 HomeViews Resident Choice Awards rankings.
These were based on Verified reviews on HomeViews, and required the developer to have at least 3 developments across sales properties, Housing Association homes and Housing Developments. The rankings below are based on Build Quality ratings, and developers required a minimum of 50+ Verified Owner reviews between 01/01/2022 – 31/12/2023 to qualify.
*PLEASE NOTE the Star Ratings shown below are an overall average score for each company, while this list is ranked 1-10 purely on each developer’s rating for Build Quality – a rating not shown publicly on our site.
2024 Resident Choice Awards
The rankings in this article are taken from HomeViews’ 2024 Resident Choice Awards, which took place in Birmingham on the 23rd February. The awards are the property industry’s only awards based purely on verified resident reviews.
Top 5 things new build owners wish they’d known before buying
Before you go, here’s a quick rundown of the top 5 things that new-build buyers say they wish they’d known before purchasing. This list comes from our latest free New Build Buyer’s Guide. You can check that out in the link, where you’ll also find the full top 10 list. In this order of priority, prior to buying, new-build buyers wish they’d known more about:
- The developer and property manager
- Parking arrangements
- The quality of the garden
- Snagging surveys – how they work, what the developer’s conditions are, etc
- How the property looks/feels at different times of the day.
So bear these important points in mind if you’re planning on searching for a new-build property.
The biggest housebuilders in the UK
The best housebuilders for build quality aren’t necessarily going to be the biggest developers, though there is some overlap between the two. Below is a list of the biggest housebuilders in the UK, as listed on letsbuild.com. As you can see, both Barratt and Bellway feature on both lists:
- Barratt Developments
- Kier Group
- Taylor Wimpey
- Persimmon Group
- Galliford Try
- Bellway
- Redrow
- Willmott Dixon
The only dedicated property review site
Reviews on HomeViews cover a range of subjects, including facilities, design, location, value, and property management. They also include ratings and reviews on a number of topics not shown publicly on the site.
These cover specific elements of the renting or buying experience, including customer service, build timetable, aftersales care and build quality. By gathering such detailed information on UK home builders, you can be sure HomeViews reviews cover all the angles to give a fair representation of each development and house builder.
Find this list and other UK rankings for the UK’s new build developers and developments in our latest New Build Resident Experience Report.
HomeViews provides verified resident reviews of the UK’s housing developments. We’re working with developers, landlords and the Government to recognise high performers and help to improve standards in the built environment.
