News - Fast broadband could boost UK house prices...maybe

[pauldarkside]

A poll by ISP Review which quizzed 733 people between mid July and February of this year, discovered that nearly 2 thirds of Brits would think twice before purchasing a house without a fast broadband connection.

That should be "Mid-January 2011 and February 2011".

With such a low sample rate it's as reliable as those cosmetic adverts, e.g. 8 out of 10 customers approve then you see the small print; from a sample of 48

[miniyazz]

No i'm really not. Locality to schools, is different entirely. I think it's a pretty poor comparison.

Why? Both are things that are desirable to buyers, both are things that buyers will pay more for, ergo, price goes up

You're not making sense.

[tickedon]

No i'm really not. Locality to schools, is different entirely. I think it's a pretty poor comparison.

Is it any different to people picking to live in a certain area because there's a new motorway being built / existing motorway that'll mean a 15 minute rather than 45 minute commute to work?
Or next to other infrastructure such as good bus routes, train station etc...?

For me, a good broadband speed is crucial not only for personal leisure time but also business. So it's going to be a huge consideration when I'm looking at a new property, probably towards the end of summer.

Ultimately, the area I want is going to be dictated by price, schools, transport links etc... - all the usual "traditional" things you'd expect. But once you know the area (or areas) you are considering, things like exchange difference, broadband options etc... on each individual property all matter - a good extra criteria to use when comparing two properties in different parts.

I simply couldn't live in a property with a poor internet connection. For me, being able to get online and sort out an issue is just as important from a work point of view as having a local train station to shorten the work commute.

[Percy1983]

But surely all houses will catch up, paying more to than a house 2 streets down to find they get upgraded 2 weeks later.

I can just see the speedtest prints on house listings.

[PeteSmith]

I can just see the speedtest prints on house listings.

Thank you. And lets not forget a couple of thousand pounds more on the asking price! It's ridiculous.

[tickedon]

But surely all houses will catch up, paying more to than a house 2 streets down to find they get upgraded 2 weeks later.

I can just see the speedtest prints on house listings.

Not really.

First example: When Virgin (or NTL as they were back then) were putting their cable down in this area 14-15 years ago (roughly), every surrounding street had cable put down *except* a small stretch of my road, which happens to cover my property, which the council wouldn't let them dig up again as they had just put a new surface on it.

Fast forward 15 years... nearly all my neighbours have a choice of Sky or Virgin, Virgin Cable vs BT copper line ADSL etc... We don't.

BT have also announced that their "FTTC" will only be deployed in certain parts of each area - although they might enable an exchange, they have to actually put the equipment out in each cab, and they'll only bring the fibre to the most profitable areas.

It's not the case that things will catch up, and even if it does happen, it's not guaranteed. Infrastructure decisions taken years ago are still having an impact on properties now. Perhaps you've been lucky to live in an area served by BT and Virgin etc... so it's never occurred to you. For me though, its going to be near the top of my list when looking at properties in the areas I want to move to. As a consumer, I want choice.