Estate Agent Finds Many UK House Movers Motivated by Broadband

Strutt & Parker, a UK estate agent and property consultant, has published the results of their new Housing Futures 2015 survey and found that broadband connectivity is fast becoming a crucial motivation when moving home, with 35.8% of respondents listing it as important or very important in their motivations for moving.

The balanced survey, which was conducted by OnePoll with 2,000 respondents from the past three years (i.e. primarily home buyers, sellers, tenants and lettings applicants), also found that nearly 19.3% listed mobile coverage as being a motivation for their desire to move.

The suggestion appears to be that one of the biggest reasons for people to move house is in order to get a faster Internet connection.

Housing Futures 2015 Statement

For the second year in a row, lifestyle change was the biggest motivation for moving, followed by access to shops and amenities. A new category for the survey this year was broadband connectivity, which has shot in as the third highest motivation and highlights the desire to be technologically connected.

The Biggest Motivations for Moving House
49.3% Lifestyle change
39.3% Close to shops/amenities
35.8% Broadband connectivity
34.3% Close to family/friends
30.7% Bigger home
29.3% Access to public transport
19.3% Mobile coverage
12.2% Pension top-up
11.0% Financial support for relatives

The Housing Futures survey also asked respondents to pick one “dream item” for inside their new home and broadband connectivity came top, with 668 of the respondents putting their weight behind it; although we suspect that it would have been more accurate to label this option as “superfast broadband” (or something along those lines) because most people can already get basic broadband in one form or another.

Dream Item for a New Home
668 Broadband Connectivity
578 Garage
477 Shed/outbuildings
368 Off-street parking
356 Pets allowed
335 Extra storage (basement/loft)
165 Recycling services
155 Bicycle storage
121 Wet room

It’s worth pointing out that 79.4% of respondents also believe they can achieve their dream home within the next five years and it seems clear that a fast broadband connection will be a key requirement in that consideration.