Pulte Homes Wins First National Housing Quality 'Gold' Award; National Builder Receives Highest Honor For Customer-Focused Initiatives

Business Wire, Oct 1, 2004

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. -- Pulte Homes, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) has been named winner of the first ever National Housing Quality (NHQ) Gold Award, patterned after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The NAHB Research Center, a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and Reed Residential Group, publishers of Professional Builder and Professional Remodeler magazines, administer the NHQ Award Program annually.

Representatives of Pulte Homes accepted the award at a NAHB event on September 13th in New Orleans. Pulte is the first homebuilder recognized at a national level by the NHQ Awards for its overall quality program.

The NHQ Awards are open to all U.S. residential builders. Entries are judged by panels of experts who evaluate the role that customer-focused quality plays in construction, business management, sales, design and warranty service.

"We're very pleased to be recognized again at a national level for our efforts in making the customer's overall buying experience a great one," said Richard J. Dugas, Jr., President and CEO of Pulte Homes, Inc. "To win both the coveted J.D. Power and Associates Platinum Award for excellence in customer service and the NHQ Gold Award in the same year is about the highest praise a company like ours can receive."

NAHB Research Center president Michael Luzier said, "We are proud to recognize Pulte Homes for its historic NHQ Gold Award win. Their win is especially notable since Pulte Homes achieved this outstanding accomplishment with their first application. The company has displayed an exceptional dedication to quality assurance and customer satisfaction throughout its business practices."

Professional Builder editorial director Heather McCune added, "The NHQ Award is the most difficult award to obtain in the industry. Pulte Homes is to be commended for creating a company capable of achieving this honor."

Winners of the NHQ Award are featured in Professional Builder and Professional Remodeler magazine articles that highlight their company's quality management practices and serve as a model for the benefit of the housing industry.

About Pulte Homes

Pulte Homes, Inc., (NYSE:PHM) based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., has operations in 45 markets across the U.S. Under its Del Webb (www.delwebb.com) brand, the company is the nation's leading builder of active adult communities for people age 55 and older. Over its history, the company has constructed more than 370,000 homes. In 2004, J.D. Power and Associates ranked Pulte Homes No. 1 in customer satisfaction in 14 U.S. markets, and among the top three homebuilders in 23 of 25 total markets surveyed. J.D. Power and Associates also named Pulte Homes the inaugural recipient of its Platinum Award for Excellence in Customer Service among the nation's largest homebuilders in 2004. Pulte Mortgage LLC is a nationwide lender committed to meeting the financing needs of Pulte Homes' customers by offering a wide variety of loan products and superior customer service.

Websites: www.pulte.com; www.delwebb.com

About the NAHB Research Center

The NAHB Research Center, located in Upper Marlboro, Md., promotes innovation in housing technology to improve the quality, durability, affordability and environmental performance of homes and home building products. Created 40 years ago as a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the NAHB Research Center has established itself as the source for reliable, objective information and research on housing construction and development issues. Through its various testing and certification services, the Research Center seal is internationally recognized as a mark of product quality and an assurance of product performance.