Customer Need s Satisfaction in the Housing Sector: the Case of the Toluca Valley

Currently, the construction sector faces great challenges, as the recent economic contraction has directly impacted this industry, and only companies that can offer quality products and services will survive in today’s highly competitive markets. In particular, the housing sector has to find ways to meet the needs of its customers due to the number of firms competing in this arena. There are some studies that quantify the demand for housing as well as those that reveal the number of homes sold per year in a region. However, investigations in Mexico to establish the level of cus- tomer satisfaction with their homes are still scarce. Thus, the main objective of this research is to determine the level of customer satisfaction in the Toluca Valley s housing sector (a region located 60 km west of Mexico City), in low income projects developed by Mexican construction companies. Having applied a questionnaire to users from seventy eight houses within eight different projects, some issues were identified that builders could improve, and take into account during the design stage of new housing developments. Among the main ones are: insulation, wall and ceil- ing materials, space distribution, and house s size. In contrast, residents are rela- tively satisfied with: the ease of cleaning, the aesthetics of the projects and the proximity to schools and supermarkets.