New home questions that show where the build fell short
Ask buyers of a new build how the home turned out, from the finish and the snag list to updates during the build. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What new home buyer survey questions tell you
New home buyer survey questions ask people who bought a new build how the home turned out: the quality of the finish, how many snags (the defects buyers list after moving in) they found and how fast they were fixed, how late the home was handed over and what differs from the show home. A snag fixed slowly in the first months colors how buyers talk about the whole development, and the next buyers on the street will ask them.
Ask twice: a month after moving in, for the finish and the snag list, and again after the first year, for value and whether buyers would buy new again. Send by email or with a link and pick five or six questions each time; the move-in date question lets one survey serve both rounds.
Each written answer gets a category, a theme and a sentiment, and each response an urgency, so a heating fault reaches your customer care team before a note about paint. Snag photos arrive with the response in the inbox, where each gets an owner and a status.
- Questions
- 14
- Best asked
- A month after moving in, then a year
- Industry
- Real estate
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 14 new build homes questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
The finish and the build
Rate the finish and the main parts of the home, then value and whether buyers would buy new again.
- 01Stars
How would you rate the quality of the finish in your new home?
A star rating for the finish. Put it first, and compare the share who rated 4 or higher across developments or phases.
- 02Matrix
Rate the new build on each
Rates build quality, the kitchen, the bathrooms and heating in one grid. The heat map shows which part of the home disappoints, so you know which trade to talk to.
- 09Big scale
How good is the value for what you paid?
Value for the price paid, from 1 to 10. Ask it in the one-year survey too, since buyers often judge value differently once the snags are behind them.
- 13Yes / No
Would you buy a new build again?
A plain yes or no on whether the buyer would choose a new build again. Select No in Results to see which part of the grid those buyers rated lowest.
Snags and aftercare
Count the snags, check they were fixed on time and collect the photos, so customer care can act on each one.
- 03Number
How many snags did you list after moving in?
How many snags the buyer listed. Results shows the median and the middle half, a fairer figure than an average pulled up by one difficult home.
- 05Yes / No
Were the snags fixed within the time you were promised?
Asks whether snags were fixed in the time promised. Select No in Results to read those buyers' answers on value and on buying new again.
- 10Customer effort
How easy is it to report a problem to the builder?
A customer effort score for reporting a problem to the builder. A low score usually goes with slow snag fixes, since buyers who struggle to report wait longer.
- 14File upload
Upload photos of the snags you reported
Photos of the snags the buyer reported, attached to the answer. They let customer care brief the right trade before the visit, with location data removed on upload. File upload is on every plan, 1 per survey on Free.
The build and the handover
Ask about delays, updates, extras and what differs from the show home, the gap between what was sold and what was handed over.
- 04Ruler
How many weeks late was completion?
How many weeks late completion was, on a ruler up to a year. Read it with the updates question, since a delay explained early hurts less than one buyers found out about late.
- 07Multiple choice
How well were you kept updated while it was being built?
How well buyers were kept updated during the build, from very well to very poorly. A rising share of Poorly ahead of a delay tells you to send updates earlier.
- 06Text
What is different from what the show home promised?
An open question about what differs from the show home. Each answer gets a theme, so gaps that repeat, such as finishes or room sizes, reach sales before the next phase.
- 08Multiple choice
Which extras did you pay for?
Shows which paid extras buyers chose. Results shows bars with each share, which helps you decide which upgrades to offer as standard on the next phase.
Who answered and what to change
The move-in date lets you split answers by how long buyers have lived there, and the open question tells you what to change on the next phase.
- 12Dropdown
When did you move in?
When the buyer moved in, from the last month to over two years. Select a range in Results to compare first-month answers with those from buyers who have lived there a year.
- 11Text
What would you ask the builder to change for the next home?
Asks what the buyer would change for the next home you build. Each answer arrives with a type such as idea or complaint, which makes it easy to pass to design.
Tips for asking about new build homes
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Ask after the first month
Send the first survey a month after moving in, when buyers have found most snags and still remember the handover.
- 02
Ask again after a year
Send a shorter survey after the first year with value, buying new again and the open question, since some faults show up only after a winter.
- 03
Track every snag in the inbox
Give each response that lists snags an owner and a status, so buyers see their list worked through without chasing.
- 04
Survey each development separately
Send one survey per development or phase, so each site team sees its own finish rating and snag count.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about new build homes
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
A month after moving in, and again after the first year. Usertick sends to a contact list now or on a date up to 30 days ahead, so schedule each round after a group of handovers.
Yes, on every plan. Add the file upload question (1 per survey on Free), and the photos arrive with the response in the inbox, with their location data removed.
Five or six: the finish rating, the grid, the snag count, whether snags were fixed on time and one open question.
On every plan, a workflow can post each response to Slack or Microsoft Teams, add it to Google Sheets or call a webhook. Zendesk and Jira are available as well.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
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