Mower’s Homeowner Research

In December 2022, Mower conducted a survey among 308 US homeowners who have built a new home within the past 2 years. We wanted to understand the homebuilding process from a homeowner’s perspective: everything from how they select a builder to the challenges they faced during construction. Key findings from this research include:

• Homeowners most often turn to the Internet to search potential homebuilders; 49% use search engines, 47% visit builder websites and 46% browse social media as research channels.
• Competitive price (53%) and reputation for developing quality homes (52%) are the factors that most influence selection of a builder.
• Over 7 in 10 find plumbing fixtures and flooring options to be very/extremely important when thinking about their new home.
• 62% have some level of involvement in the selection of brands for their new home. Top mentioned brands include Samsung (6%), Kohler (6%) and LG (5%).
• LED lighting (64%), energy efficient kitchen appliances (53%) and smart thermostats (53%) are the most common energy efficient products included in new home builds.
• Homeowners would be willing to wait longer for their homes to be completes; 36% indicate their new build took one year or longer, however, 45% would have been willing to wait that long for their new home.
• 86% experience some sort of challenge throughout the homebuilding process, most commonly materials delays (42%) and scheduling delays (42%).
• In hindsight, 40% would change at least one thing about their new home now that it is complete. Top mentions include changes to the overall floorplan (5%) and increasing square footage (4%).