News - Better broadband speeds boost property values by £ thousands

[Phrontis]

We will be looking for new house in a couple of years as we downsize once the kids are gone. I will NOT consider a house that has poor Internet speeds. We have Virgin Media at the moment and get 160Mb at the right times of day. Never seen it drop below 140. With 5 of us on all the time and the kids playing games etc to all hours we never notice that the others are using it. When it's just me and the wife I am sure 50Mb will be more than enough, so that is what a new house will have to have. I regard Internet as another utility like water, electricity or gas. A cess pit I can have pumped out once a year!

Phrontis

[Gerrard]

I mentioned in another thread that I recently got done-over by this when I moved. Builders said Infinity was available, and as it was a new build, I checked a house on the street that had already been built and it said it was available. When I moved in, I thought that once I got a phone line in, the system would update and then I could upgrade. Isn't the case. A bit more digging found that the place I checked had FTTP, and I guess probably got done when the plot was bought; the cabinet is not FTTC. When I asked about this, the builders are suddenly aware that there is problem, that BT aren't helping and they're escalating it... . So I've gone from 50Mbit/s Infinity to 2Mbit/s ADSL. Would it have made a difference? Possibly; just more annoyed at the situation. Maybe it'll get sorted at some point...

[Myss_tree]

Rolling acres of expensive detached houses are less likely to get broadband than streets crammed full of terraces.
More houses per hectare means a higher likely uptake particularly in areas of high unemployment and people on benefits where the state (taxpayer) usually gets to foot the bill for broadband, sky tv, etc.

[McEwin]

Rolling acres of expensive detached houses are less likely to get broadband than streets crammed full of terraces.
More houses per hectare means a higher likely uptake particularly in areas of high unemployment and people on benefits where the state (taxpayer) usually gets to foot the bill for broadband, sky tv, etc.

Funny that cause way back when they rolled out fibre optics they targeted the wealthy street first. I guess as broadband is cheap enough and now a basic human right [cough], this is no longer the case. I concede the point.

[Dooms]

It was a major factor when me and my mate were looking for a new flat last year. We basically ruled out anywhere that didn't offer Fibre or Cable.

It is surprising that no adverts we saw advertised the fact, we had to plug the info into websites ourselves to find out.

[McEwin]

Isn't that massively irresponsible?

"I need this amenity to do my job, but I didn't ask about it or factor it into my decision making"

If there is a problem I can find a solution and in doing so I'll make that 3% you'll be paying for.

[Numenor]

Bigger, more expensive houses are actually LESS likely to have been upgraded to fibre. The areas to be upgraded first were typically the most densely-populated ones, to bring in the highest numbers of customers possible.

Internet speed will definitely be an important factor for my next house move, though I don't think it will entice me to pay more - only to choose one house over another.

[jim]

But then on the flipside houses in denser areas are likely to be worth more.

[davidcrofter]

Has anybody actually seen this as a selling point used by Estate Agents -have they missed a trick?? I think with the move to 4K this is going to be quite important to most homes.

Be interesting to see if areas that have cable enjoy the same sort of price premium.

[Bagnaj97]

When I moved last year it wasn't a deciding factor (within reason, <~2mbps probably would make me disregard a property), but most definitely was an influencing one. I did a quick check on the BT site of expected ADSL speeds and fibre availability on all potential houses.

I'd probably rate internet availability on the same level as access to local shops, transport links and other amenities.

[Phrontis]

Just to clarify my last post. If the house, even if perfect in every way, even if it is installed with Thai chamois leather testical massage machines, has poor Internet access it will not be considered. But even if it has 1Gb fibre, I won't be paying anymore for it. It's a case of will I buy it or not?


Phrontis

[Brewster0101]

Would it sound good on a property ad?

Just noticed on the right move web site, it now states broadband speeds and providers available.