“Poor Broadband Speed Hits Rural Property Market

Author - Susan Pearson

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“Poor Broadband Speed Hits Rural Property Market

According to estate agents potential buyers of rural properties are being scared off by poor broadband speeds.

In a comment to The Telegraph, Frank Speir, a director at Prime Purchase said that poor broadband speeds were ‘having a definite effect’ on decisions being made by people to buy rural properties although they probably required little downloads and upload speeds.

He even admitted to having personally dissuaded people from buying certain properties where there is poor coverage albeit the potential buyers may try to use satellite broadband.

He also commented ‘It’s not an issue about price, it’s simply that I have to advise clients against making a purchase’

Last week, Richard Lochhead, the Scottish rural affairs secretary warned there was evidence suggesting that residents and businesses are relocating from Scotland’s hardest-to-reach communities in order to take advantage of better broadband speeds elsewhere.

‘There is rural depopulation due to a lack of connectivity,’ he insisted.”