Broadband speed a factor for 30% of buyers

Nearly a third of people (30%) say that broadband speeds are likely to affect their decision on whether or not they buy a home in a particular area, research from Halifax has revealed.

The research also revealed that 20% of those surveyed would be prepared to pay more for the same home if it had good broadband.

Of those who would pay for good broadband 67% said they would pay up to 3% more and 22% said they would be prepared to pay an extra 4%-10%. Martin Ellis, economist at Halifax, 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.”

The research found that broadband speeds are most likely to affect people's decision to buy a home in urban areas (32%) as opposed to rural areas (25%).

There are also significant differences across the UK with 38% of people in Wales saying broadband speeds are likely to affect their decision to buy compared to just 21% of those living in the North East.

Peter Lawrence at Lawrence Rand said: “We expect broadband and communication speeds to become ever more important in buyer decisions as we all become greater consumers of what the digital age has to offer in terms of both domestic and business use.”