STATISTICS from the HomeViews 2023 Build-to-Rent (BTR) Report reveal that the biggest drop in tenant satisfaction ratings year-on-year are management and customer service related. According to Wise Living, this needs to be addressed or risks damaging the reputation of the booming BTR sector, especially for Single Family Housing (SFH), which has felt the brunt of dissatisfaction.
Anne Malone, head of customer experience at Wise Living said: “We are at a point of exponential growth for the BTR sector, with BTR SFH especially growing at pace. So, it is disheartening to see findings from HomeViews, that point to customer experience issues, especially in the SFH category – with BTR apartments, for example, achieving higher ratings across the board than SFH.
“As an industry we absolutely must be prioritising quality of customer service, as well as the quantity of BTR SFH developments.
“Earlier this year, we reported that our tenant satisfaction scores are on the increase, due to our ongoing efforts to prioritise customer experience. An example of this is Wise Living achieving a record Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +81 in response to the following question: ‘How likely are you to recommend Wise Living to family, a friend, or colleague?’. NPS can be anywhere between -100 and +100, and according to the creators of the NPS metric, Bain & Company, a score above 80 is world class.”
Showing the rapid growth of BTR SFH, the HomeViews report revealed that 31 new SFH schemes became operational in 2022 until September, with 15,000 SFH units in the planning pipeline during that time – double the number of the previous year.
Paul Staley, managing director at Wise Living said: “Growth figures for BTR SFH are strong, and will continue to grow in the future as more families choose to raise a family in rental accommodation due to the increasing cost of home ownership, which includes the need for larger deposits with tougher underwriting criteria.
“Existing tenants are also looking for more energy efficient homes that are cheaper to run, while offering a flexible living space. With this, we understand that looking outside of cities is proving attractive – with a significant minority willing to move greater distances to be closer to green spaces, work opportunities, schools or family.
“In fact, in the past year 16.24% of Wise Living tenant applications have moved an impressive 50+ miles to their new BTR SFH home. While this figure is less than applicants who have chosen to stay within one-three miles of their previous home (34.78%), it showcases how relocations, often from urban city centre areas to more suburban developments, are catching up.”
The typical Wise Living tenant across its current nine developments still fits a profile recognised by
Savills, with applicants more likely to be child-free. However, when an applicant does have children, this is usually two (14.1%) followed by one child (8.1%) and then less commonly three (1.1%).
Anne Malone added: “Our developments are well suited for working people and families. So, while the majority of our applicants do not have a child, it is important for us to cater for both. However, no matter what type of applicant, the fact remains that fantastic customer service throughout the whole experience must be prioritised and should never slip. With a growing BTR SFH market, the challenge will be to ensure pace doesn’t overtake a quality customer experience.”
To find out more about Wise Living, visit
www.wiselivinghomes.co.uk/
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