Slow broadband could knock nearly £50,000 off property, claims survey

Fast internet is one of the top priorities for prospective house buyers. Would-be purchasers would consider slower speeds but only if the property price is reduced by a whopping 19%.

With the average house price in the UK now £245,443 (as of October 2020), this means a slow internet connection could wipe £46,634 off the value of your house. Those are the findings from broadband comparison site Compare Fibre from its latest research.

With the current stamp duty holiday planned to come to an end on 31st March 2021, Compare Fibre set out to understand the current state of the mindset of 5000 potential property buyers and what they value most in their criteria for a next dream home. The independent study of UK residents asked respondents to rank the most important criteria for their next house purchase.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a garden came top of the list, with 53% of people identifying outdoor space as their most important thing to look for in a new house. Research has found that a neat and tidy garden can add up to 20% on to the price of properties for sale.

Second was open-plan living at 32%. Open-plan living has been an interior design trend for some time but now more than ever, we need to be able to use our indoor space for multiple purposes. Lockdown life has led many of us to double dining areas as home offices, living rooms and home schools and use spare corners as exercise areas. Open-plan interiors allow for flexible and adaptable use of space.

A fast and stable broadband connection has also never been so important with the internet now essential for those who work or learn from home. 24% of respondents to the Compare Fibre survey stated that speeds of 30Mbps or greater would be on their list of features considered essential in a new home.

Indeed, 30Mbps is the rate that Ofcom considers to be “superfast” broadband, yet only 69% of British households can currently achieve this speed.

Says Nathan Hill-Haimes, Co-Founder of Compare Fibre:

“What this research demonstrates is that fast internet speeds are increasingly considered an essential. Buyers expect fast broadband – estimates suggest that the existence of a superfast connection will add 3% to the value of your home. But if the absence of it knocks off a huge 19%, then that suggests viewers will walk away once you reveal your sub-par speeds.”