Posted: 08th Feb, 2012 By: MarkJ

The results from 1215 respondents (polled during January 2012) to our latest annual reader survey, which re-examined last year's study into whether or not faster internet access could affect the value of a UK house, has strongly reinforced the opinion that being covered by a superfast broadband service will
add real value to homes around the country.
The study found that more than three quarters (80% - up from 69% one year ago) of respondents would feel
discouraged from buying a beautiful new house if it lacked a "
good broadband" connection. Meanwhile over half (57%) would pay more for a house that was covered by a "
superfast broadband" (25Mbps+) service.
Is broadband important to your home life?
Critically Important - 80%
Average Importance - 18.5%
Not Important - 1.3%
Would you pay more for a house with superfast broadband (25Mbps+)?
Yes - 57.4%
No - 42.5%
Would lack of good broadband put you off buying a beautiful new house?
Yes - 80.4%
No - 19.5%
What is the minimum REAL speed you would accept with a new home (pick closest)?
10Mbps - 30.7%
20Mbps - 25.4%
40Mbps+ - 22.9%
5Mbps - 15.8%
2Mbps - 3.2%
Don't know - 1.6%
The respondents to our study, many of whom visit ISPreview.co.uk for the purpose of choosing a new ISP (a necessity for home movers too), clearly placed a high value on broadband and most would be willing to
pay extra for a house that delivers good connectivity. The results could also have
serious implications for rural areas, where slow speeds are more common.
Unfortunately it's also inherently very difficult to attach a specific financial value to the quality of broadband in '
for sale' homes because requirements and property values vary from place to place and person to person, any decision is always about more than a single service.
At present most of the available evidence remains anecdotal but the indications still seem clear. Given a selection of houses, people are more likely to pick the one with super-fast connectivity than risk being left
digital isolated by a slow service.
This month's new survey simply asks how much you pay for your current broadband service and what is preventing you from picking a superfast alternative?
Vote Here.