Mobile phone reception is make or break for homebuyers
Forget walk-in wardrobes or double glazing - mobile phone reception is the new must-have feature for potential homeowners and tenants, with 84% of house hunters admitting that this affects their decision as to whether they rent or buy a property.
In a recent survey by property website Globrix.com, over a third (35%) of all respondents said they would not even consider buying or renting a property unless it had mobile phone reception - equivalent to 17.2 million Britons.
A further 18.7 million potential tenants and homeowners (37.5%) said that while they would not rule out a property due to a lack of mobile reception, they would definitely have reservations.
For 12% (5.9 million) of house hunters, the lack of mobile reception would affect the price they would be prepared to pay, expecting the rental amount or asking price to be discounted to compensate for a lack of reception.
Ofcom figures suggest that network providers still have some way to go before every UK home has a mobile phone signal. It is estimated that the UK has at best, 90% coverage, but this reduces when broken down regionally to as little as 64% in Scotland.
Jennifer Warner from Globrix.com said: “Technology is becoming an increasingly important factor in the renting and buying process because it’s such an integral part of people’s work and social lives now. However official figures suggest that at least one in 10 UK properties is likely to encounter the issue of not having a mobile signal, so it’s certainly something that both buyers and sellers need be aware of.
“Finding the right property isn’t just about bricks and mortar anymore - people expect to be able to communicate from the comfort of their own home and for many people, a standard landline connection just won’t suffice.
“There are lots of websites that allow you to see which networks cover which locations, so it’s advisable to run a few checks before ruling a property out completely. Just because one provider doesn’t cover the area doesn’t necessarily mean that others won’t, so it’s definitely worth considering a new mobile phone network before considering a new property.”