Buyer-generated content, including consumer reviews of builders, is now available on Zillow and will be viewable on builder profiles, community pages and paid new construction listings.
Builder Ratings and Reviews was launched Wednesday and surveys new homeowners at move-in asking them to rate their overall experience, quality of their home, builder responsiveness, the confidence they have in their builder and whether or not they would recommend that builder to other homebuyers.
“Zillow was founded on the core value of ‘turning on the lights,’ arming consumers with the information they need to make what will likely be the biggest purchase decision of their life,” Lucy Wohltman, vice president of Zillow New Construction, said in a statement.
“Builder Ratings and Reviews provides our customers with the confidence to pursue the home of their dreams, and gives our partners the tools they need to manage their reputation,” Wohltman said.
Through a third-party partnership with Avid Ratings, reviews cannot be edited or deleted by builders. This encourages builders to respond and interact with reviewers, Zillow said.
The feature is free and available to builders currently partnering with Zillow via its Promoted Communities listing product. This product provides builders the opportunity to enhance their reputation and influence home shopper decisions, the company said.
In Zillows Consumer Housing Trends Report, it was revealed that 76% of new construction buyers say reputation is very or extremely important in a builder. The company has seen a dramatic uptick in interest on paid new construction listing, noting that views increased more than 34% year over year for the last four months.
In July, Zillow home shoppers expressed more interest in designing a new home, with page views in July to paid new construction listings up 81%.
