Overall customer satisfaction and opinions about new-home quality rose in San Antonio last year.

Locally, the J.D. Power study ranked the Houston-based David Weekley Homes first for customer satisfaction, with a score of 892 out of 1,000.

It was followed by KB Home, Ryland Homes and Pulte Homes, which all outscored the San Antonio market average of 804.

In the new-home quality category, Fieldstone Communities ranked highest with San Antonio buyers with a score of 888.

Fieldstone was followed David Weekley Homes and Centex Homes, which also outperformed the San Antonio market average of 830.

Both the overall customer satisfaction and quality numbers rose slightly for San Antonio.

Builders included in the survey completed at least 150 homes in Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe and Kendall counties.

Nationally, J.D. Power surveyed about 16,400 new-home buyers in 17 of the largest real estate markets and found that a buyer's market has made new-home buyers a more satisfied bunch than they were at the height of the real estate boom.

"When they're building fewer homes, there is just that little bit extra time, and that can make all the difference in the world," said Dale Haines, senior director of the real estate and construction industries practice at J.D. Power.

Adapting to the downturn and the intense competition for customers has made builders focus more on quality control and customer relationships, Haines said.

"Most builders have had to trim their staff quite a bit," he said. "More often than not, the folks that are retained are the high talent folks in terms of serving customers and delivering a quality product. The same is true for trades and subcontractors. The ones that are staying in business are the top performers."

In an effort to trim costs, builders also have done things such as streamline the number of options and upgrades available to buyers, which often means a more timely delivery with fewer mistakes, Haines said.

"These are the kinds of structural and cultural changes in the industry that we see having a long-term positive effect for the construction industry," Haines said.

Home quality in the San Antonio market has improved slightly, up by three points from the previous year.

When homebuyers do report problems, the most common San Antonio complaints were landscaping issues, driveway and foundation cracks, and wall or ceiling cracks.

Customer satisfaction marketwide rose eight points from 2009.