Halifax Study Claims Good Broadband Access Boosts UK House Values

A new survey of just over 2,000 UK adults conducted by ICM for the Halifax (Lloyds Banking Group) has claimed that 20% would pay more for “good broadband” (defined as speeds greater than 2Mbps) and two thirds (67%) of those were prepared to pay up to 3% more (22% would pay between 4% to 10% more).

The study, which was carried out between 12-14th December 2012, notes that the average house in the UK now costs £162,932 and as a result almost a quarter of people would conceivably be willing to pay up to £16,293 extra to buy a home with 2Mbps or faster connectivity (2Mbps is a pretty low bar to set for “good” broadband).

Overall some 30% said that access to a good broadband service was at least “likely” to affect their buying decisions, although it’s interesting to note that this increased to 32% for people in urban areas and fell to 25% for rural residents.

Martin Ellis, Halifax Economist, said:

“A strong broadband connection is an increasingly important factor when choosing where to live. We are living in the digital age and as such more people are choosing to work from home, but as well as this it’s a part of our everyday lives with web browsing and streaming television commonplace.

As a result we find people are increasingly prepared to pay a premium for homes with a good broadband signal, and this is likely to remain a factor when choosing where to live.”

Elsewhere 34% of Men said that broadband was likely to affect their decision, which fell dramatically when the same question was put to Women (26%). Similarly 40% of those aged 18-24 agreed that it would affect their decision, which fell to 24% for those aged 65+.

However it’s inherently very difficult to attach a specific financial value to the quality of broadband and its impact on home values. Requirements and property prices vary from place to place and person to person, thus any decision is always about more than a single service.

Certainly a home with good broadband is bound to weight into the decision but as to whether you’d actually pay extra? That’s a highly subjective question. Credits to Thinkbroadband for spotting the survey.