Real Estate Customer Experience Awards honored developers prioritizing homebuyer satisfaction, with Immobel winning Developer of the Year as customer experience becomes key differentiator.
The inaugural Real Estate Customer Experience Awards celebrated property developers who prioritize homebuyer satisfaction throughout the construction process. Belgian company Immobel won Developer of the Year, while Woodstoxx and Ellen De Clercq from ION took Partner and Professional honors respectively for their exceptional customer-centric approaches.
Customer experience has become the defining factor separating good property developers from great ones. Every homebuyer now expects transparency, communication, and support throughout their purchase journey.
The property sector has responded by transforming how they interact with customers during construction projects. Modern developers recognize that customer experience matters for residential developers beyond traditional transaction completion.
The Real Estate Customer Experience Awards fill a critical gap in industry recognition. While most property awards celebrate completed projects or architectural achievements, few acknowledge the relationship-building that happens during construction. Vincent Van Impe, co-founder of Ziggu, explains the motivation behind launching these awards: "In the past, property developers may have had somewhat of a negative reputation when it comes to customer focus. But in the past few years, they have been making great strides and are working hard to give customers a sense of home even before the walls of the house are built." He continues, "We believe this work deserves recognition, and we are happy to contribute to that through these awards." This recognition framework addresses the industry's evolving commitment to customer relationships beyond mere transaction completion.
The RECX Awards recognized excellence across three distinct categories. Each category evaluated participants based on customer satisfaction commitment, innovation in service delivery, and customer-centric approach implementation. The jury created shortlists of 20 developers, 20 industry partners, and 30 professionals. This comprehensive approach ensured recognition for organizations and individuals driving customer experience improvements across the entire property ecosystem. Immobel, the Belgian listed company with roots dating back to 1863, claimed the Developer of the Year award through their proactive approach to customer service that distinguished them from competitors. Woodstoxx received the Partner of the Year award for their contributions to customer experience in wooden construction as one of Flanders' largest wooden construction specialists. Ellen De Clercq, head of customer advisory at ION, won the individual Professional of the Year award, demonstrating the importance of dedicated customer advisory positions within property organizations and showing how individual recognition acknowledges that customer experience improvements often start with passionate professionals who champion customer-centric approaches.
| Traditional Developer Approach | Award-Winning Customer Experience |
|---|---|
| Limited communication during construction | Regular updates and transparent progress reports |
| Reactive problem-solving | Proactive issue identification and resolution |
| Transactional relationship focus | Long-term relationship building |
| Generic customer service | Dedicated customer advisory roles |
| Post-completion handoff | Extended aftercare support |
The property sector's customer experience evolution reflects broader market demands as homebuyers increasingly expect the same level of service they receive from other industries. Modern property developers face pressure to provide regular updates, transparent communication, and responsive support throughout construction timelines. Those who excel gain competitive advantages in customer satisfaction and referral generation. The awards recognize developers who've successfully transformed their customer engagement from transactional to relationship-focused approaches. Award winners share a common approach: they create emotional connections with buyers before physical construction finishes through consistent communication, proactive problem-solving, and transparency about project progress. Successful developers understand that customer experience begins at first contact and extends through post-completion aftercare, investing in systems and processes that keep buyers informed and engaged throughout their journey. Many implement customer portals as the new website standard for buyer communication. The recognition these pioneers receive encourages other developers to prioritize similar customer-focused initiatives.
The RECX Awards provide winners with more than recognition—they offer market differentiation opportunities as award-winning developers can showcase their customer commitment to prospective buyers who increasingly research developer reputations before purchasing. Customer experience excellence also drives business results through reduced complaints, increased referrals, and improved project completion satisfaction scores. Winners demonstrate that investing in customer experience delivers both reputation benefits and measurable business outcomes. Efficient large scale project management strategies often support these customer experience improvements by ensuring better communication and coordination. The inaugural Real Estate Customer Experience Awards established benchmarks for customer-centric property development by recognizing Immobel's proactive service approach, Woodstoxx's partnership excellence, and Ellen De Clercq's individual leadership, highlighting diverse paths to customer experience success. These awards signal the industry's commitment to elevating customer relationships beyond basic transaction completion, encouraging other developers to invest in customer experience improvements and recognizing that exceptional service during construction creates lasting competitive advantages. As customer expectations continue rising, the RECX Awards provide a framework for celebrating and encouraging the customer-focused innovation that modern homebuyers deserve.
The RECX Awards are inaugural industry recognition awards that celebrate property developers, partners, and professionals who prioritize customer satisfaction during construction projects. They address a critical gap by focusing on relationship-building than completed projects or architectural achievements.
Immobel won Developer of the Year, Woodstoxx received Partner of the Year, and Ellen De Clercq from ION was named Professional of the Year. These winners were selected from shortlists of 20 developers, 20 industry partners, and 30 professionals.
Participants were evaluated based on customer satisfaction commitment, innovation in service delivery, and customer-centric approach implementation. The jury focused on organizations and individuals driving customer experience improvements across the entire property ecosystem.
These awards provide market differentiation opportunities and encourage industry-wide improvements in customer service. Award-winning developers can showcase their customer commitment to prospective buyers who increasingly research developer reputations before purchasing.
Customer experience excellence drives business results through reduced complaints, increased referrals, and improved project completion satisfaction scores. It also creates competitive advantages and helps build long-term customer relationships beyond transaction completion.
Customer-centric developers provide regular updates, transparent communication, proactive problem-solving, and dedicated customer advisory roles. They invest in systems that keep buyers informed throughout construction and extend support through post-completion aftercare.
The awards were launched by Ziggu, with co-founder Vincent Van Impe explaining their motivation to recognize property developers who are working hard to give customers a sense of home even before construction completion. The initiative aims to encourage customer-focused innovation across the industry.
Vincent is co-founder of Ziggu, where he leads sales and marketing. With a background in real estate technology, he helps property developers, architects, and contractors build better client relationships through structured communication. Vincent writes about customer experience, PropTech trends, and the future of project-based collaboration.
