Homebuyers are Prioritising Wi-Fi Over Good Schools
One in four Brits would reject a home over potential slow broadband
Almost half (45%) of recent and prospective home movers rank broadband among their considerations when choosing a home, much more so than local schools (26%)
- Over 1 in 3 (37%) don’t feel settled into a new home until their Wi-Fi is working.
- Of those asked how they’d feel if broadband wasn’t working when they moved in, 45% said frustrated, 26% said stressed or overwhelmed, and 23% said cut off or isolated.
- Setting up utilities and online banking are the top reasons broadband/Wi-Fi is needed in the first 24 hours after moving.
- Hyperoptic’s own switching data shows July to October is consistently the busiest period for broadband switches, with One Touch Switch requests rising by around 43% during that window in 2025.
- Hyperoptic shares five tips to help home movers plan for broadband earlier.
Broadband has stopped being something people sort out once they’ve got the keys. New research from full fibre provider, Hyperoptic, finds that 45% of people now rank broadband among their considerations when choosing a home. This is above local schools (26%), and is nearly on par with transport links (51%).
Hyperoptic’s own data shows August is consistently one of the busiest months of the year, with new connections rising 24% compared to July and sitting 45% higher than the average across the rest of the year. With the August bank holiday weekend approaching (Friday 28 – Monday 31 August), broadband demand is expected to spike alongside the moving surge, continuing as more moves carry on into September.
In a survey of 2,000 UK adults who have previously moved home, or plan to in the next 12 months, 23% said poor or slow broadband would put them off buying or renting a property completely, and a further 34% said it would make them think twice, suggesting connectivity is increasingly weighed up before people commit to a home, rather than arranged once they’ve moved in.
Getting the keys is one thing; feeling settled is another. When asked what makes a new property feel like home, movers pointed to a mix of the practical and digital. 37% put working Wi-Fi among the things that make a home feel settled, second only to heating and hot water (40%), putting connectivity alongside some of moving day’s more familiar rituals. The first day in a new home is increasingly built around getting online as much as getting unpacked.
The stress doesn’t stop once contracts are exchanged. Broadband is a crucial consideration for movers, as 79% expect it to be working within 2-3 days, and not having working broadband would leave them frustrated (45%), stressed or overwhelmed (26%) and isolated (23%).
Hyperoptic’s consumer research reveals the top things people need broadband for during the first 24 hours of moving:
- Setting up utilities or household accounts (50%)
- Online banking / payments (50%)
- Contacting friends or family (37%)
- Streaming TV / films (34%)
- Setting up smart home devices (e.g. TV, doorbell, speaker, etc.) (33%)
- Working from home (29%)
- Ordering food, groceries or a takeaway (20%)
- Keeping children entertained (16%)
Where the move-in checklist once began and ended with keys, kettle, meter readings and boxes, today’s movers are just as likely to be setting up smart home devices and streaming TV or films.
According to Hyperoptic’s switching data, the summer moving season prompts people to reassess their broadband. July to October is consistently the company’s busiest period for switches. One Touch Switch also saw a 43% increase in requests during that window in 2025.
Moving home is stressful enough without broadband becoming another thing to do after the fact. Hyperoptic is encouraging this year’s movers to build Wi-Fi into the moving checklist alongside the run-of-the-mill admin, rather than leaving it as an afterthought for moving day.
For Hyperoptic, this also means flexibility. On 11 August, the business launched a new monthly rolling deal: £29 a month for 1Gb full fibre broadband, with no fixed-term contract and no activation fee, giving movers a way to get connected fast without committing long-term straight after a move.
Lutfu Kitapci, CCO and Managing Director of ISP at Hyperoptic, said: “For a long time, broadband was something people sorted out after they’d moved in. It was a job for the first week, like registering with a GP. What we’re starting to see is broadband being an earlier step in the moving thought process. It’s become a decision about the property itself. People are checking what’s available before they commit, in the same way they’d check transport links.
“Slow connection isn’t just an inconvenience, but a reason to walk away from a property altogether for a growing number of people. Our job is to make sure broadband isn’t another thing people have to chase once they’re exhausted from moving. That means showing up when we say we will, keeping things simple and getting people properly connected from day one.”
Dr Fuschia Sirois, Professor of Psychology at Durham University, said: “Broadband is rarely the exciting part of moving house, so it’s not surprising that it’s the first thing to slip down the list. That’s not down to disorganisation, it’s emotional. My research shows procrastination happens when we anticipate a task will be unpleasant, stressful or frustrating. But we often make emotional mountains out of molehills when it comes to such tasks and expect that it will feel worse than it actually turns out to be. So we delay it to avoid that discomfort now, even though we know it’ll cost us later.
With something like setting up broadband, people often picture a drawn-out, complicated process that will be difficult, when in reality it rarely takes as long or is as unpleasant as they’d feared once they sit down to do it. The problem is that we tend to not be very accurate in our emotional predictions. And our overestimation of how stressful or long or difficult setting up broadband will be drives procrastination. So when we avoid setting up broadband we’re actually avoiding these unpleasant anticipated feelings.
But remember that moving is a stressful event, and people are more prone to procrastination when things are stressful. So don’t be too hard on yourself if you find yourself avoiding taking action. Instead, make use of any support available to reduce uncertainty and stress, to take the pressure off you and your future self.”
Hyperoptic’s tips for anyone moving home this year:
- Check broadband availability at your new address before you exchange or sign a tenancy – not after.
- Confirm whether your existing provider and contract can transfer to the new address, or whether you’ll need a new service set up from scratch.
- Book your installation or transfer as early as possible, ideally as soon as you have a confirmed moving date.
- Check where the router will sit and whether the signal reaches the rooms you’ll use the most, particularly if you’ll be working from home.
- If you’re not ready to commit long-term straight after a move, or have a shorter-term rental agreement, look at flexible rolling contracts.
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