Your development’s Star Rating is calculated based on the scores reviewers give for each of the 6 categories, “Overall”, “Facilities”, “Design”, “Location”, “Value” and “Management”, all of which are rated out of five, over all-time.

Included in this calculation is also the date when the reviewer gave these ratings, with the most recent reviews (those within the last 12 months) having the greatest weight; as they are likely to most accurately represent the current development.

Any persistent lower scores in one or more of these categories will have an impact on your development’s overall star rating now and in the future.

Therefore, making an effort to resolve these will aid in helping improve your scores on HomeViews. For example, introducing or improving visibility of resident events might have a positive influence on resident perceptions of management and/or facilities.

Since we give more prominence in the overall score to reviews written in the last 12 months, any measures taken will be quickly reflected.

What is the decay algorithm?

Reviews that are older than 12 months are typically going to be less relevant than reviews written 1 month ago. At HomeViews, these older reviews contribute less towards your Star Rating.

The decay algorithm refers to this depreciating value of reviews after 12 months.

Reviews that have been submitted within the current year carry a 100% weighting towards your scores. After a year, these reviews drop to a 75% weighting. After two, to 50%.

This also ensures that any changes within your development – including addressing any feedback from your resident reviews – are quickly reflected in your star rating and category scores.