With remote working becoming an increasingly popular factor in the housing market, we know people are expanding their property search. An area like Petersfield is likely to appeal to more buyers now, as there is a greater sense of freedom.
Of course, just because people have greater freedom to live further from their place of work doesn’t mean they have freedom from work. There is a need to have a suitable home office set-up, and this means broadband dependability is essential.
If you plan on selling your home, you must ensure your broadband is dependable, as it is a vital factor for buyers in the modern era.
Reduce internet speeds cause problems
A study by comparethemarket.com finds 36% of homes have reported reduced internet speeds. This comes at a time when 74% of households are using the internet more. If this extrapolated across the country, close to 10 million households will have suffered in this manner.
The study indicates more than one in ten respondents’ class their internet connection as “bad”. However, 84% of respondents haven’t yet switched or even considered changing broadband supplier.
80% of people struggling with their broadband say their work is negatively affected by these issues. 23% say they have been unable to work at these times.
Some of the most pressing concerns for users occur when:
- Multiple users are online at the same time
- When they have to use video calls
- When they stream
- When their service drops out regularly
Holly Niblett is the head of digital at comparethemarket.com, and she said: “The millions of people who rely on their broadband at home for a wide range of reasons – work, paying bills and keeping in contact with friends and family – know first-hand how frustrating and inconvenient a poor internet connection can be. We know from our own research that the COVID-19 lockdown has seen almost three-quarters (74%) of households increase their internet usage, yet many are stuck on inadequate and expensive packages that don’t meet their requirements.”
While there is frustration at broadband problems, only 16% of internet using households in the UK have switched or are considering switching.
There are many reasons to switch service
Of the people who have switched, the following responses have been found:
- 48% switched for a faster and more reliable service
- 44% of these movers have chosen to pay the same or less for a better service
- 38% of people switching did so to ensure their broadband and TV package come from the same provider
Holly Niblett added: “In shopping around for a better deal, customers have access to a range of fast and affordable broadband packages that can cost less than their existing deal. When comparing broadband packages, customers should be mindful that many providers bundle broadband with TV packages, which can work out cheaper than purchasing the two separately.”
At Williams of Petersfield, we aim to support the Petersfield community as much as we can, and we know this is an extremely trying time. A lot of people are looking for support and guidance, and if you have any property or housing related questions, we are more than happy to assist you, so contact us today.