62% of Brits Might Not Buy a House Without Strong Broadband

A new survey of from low cost ISP TalkTalk has claimed that nearly two thirds (62%) of British people admit they would consider NOT buying a house if it didn’t have a “strong, reliable internet connection,” although they neglect to define what “strong” means (we suspect it’s likely to vary from person to person).

Overall 53% of respondents said they consider a “fast, reliable internet connection” a priority when house hunting (again there’s no attempt by the survey to define “fast“), which has almost doubled to 93% when answered post COVID-19.

Naturally the above result reflects the growing need for a better connection that can help to handle home working tasks (24% said they expect to work from home more frequently). Similarly, 45% of respondents admit they rely on their internet service 24 hours a day, compared with just 34% pre-lockdown.

The study also showed, unsurprisingly, that internet connectivity beats other desirable features including double glazing (46%), friendly neighbours (40%), nearby shops (36%) and good transport links (35%). With only a garden (75%) and a quiet road (56%), coming out higher.

On top of that the respondents admitted that setting up their internet connection, after moving into a new home, is “more important than any other task.” Two thirds said it was more important than putting up photos and décor (66%), painting the walls (65%) or buying new furniture (62%). Meanwhile 61% would prioritise it over meeting the neighbours (61%), making repairs (55%), unpacking boxes (40%) or taking meter readings (38%).

Sian Doyle, TalkTalk’s Consumer MD, said:

“Moving house is an incredible life milestone and Brits today are taking even more care when choosing a new property. With the working from home culture likely to stay, ensuring you have an internet connection you can rely on is vital.

The research has further demonstrated the importance of home broadband and we’ve been significantly investing in faster fibre technologies to give customers even more choice when it comes to picking the perfect package. And for busy households working from home, we’re introducing a homeworker broadband package with an additional line into the home to provide extra bandwidth for those all-important Zoom meetings with the boss.”

Hopefully it goes without saying that TalkTalk has a vested interest in the results of this survey, but the fact that they also fail to mention any details about its methodology or how many people were surveyed (and when) only serves to remove some of its credibility. We would have also liked to see a solid definition for “strong” and “fast” as such generalisations aren’t constructive (they mean different things to different people).

The above caveat is important because so-called 24Mbps+ capable “superfast broadband” networks are now available to over 96% of premises across the United Kingdom. As such it may now be more relevant to ask about the impact of having access to 1Gbps (1000Mbps+) capable “full fibre” (FTTP/H) connections, which cover around 15% of UK premises, and contrast that with 24Mbps+. Actually, let’s do something similar now with a snap poll (please try to be realistic, even though we know some people won’t be)..

As it stands today, most of the currently available evidence for the impact of broadband speed on house prices is fairly anecdotal, although a 2014 study conducted by the London School of Economics (LSE) did claim that property prices increased by an average of around 3% when the available broadband speeds doubled (here), but that’s now very out-of-date.

Ultimately the decision about how much you pay for a house will always come down to a matter of personal choice, which is of course different for everybody.