Advertisment

Renting house costlier as landlords throw in temptation of high-speed internet

author-image
CIOL Writers
New Update
CIOL Renting house may become costlier as landlords throw in temptation of high-speed internet

Looking for a rented house? How about if a high-speed internet connection threw in? Cherry on the cake! But it all depends on how much extra would you be willing to pay for it?

Advertisment

What’s the connection you ask? A recent report by the Fiber to the Home Council (FTTH) has found that landlords see value in offering fiber-optic internet connections in their rented out properties because it gives them legroom to increase rent by as much as 11 percent on an average. So, it implies that people will get faster internet connections during the next few years, but it also seems likely they’ll be paying more for it.

“These apartment and condominium owners and renters have lifestyles centering heavily on broadband use,” said the report. “(They) spend more time online and use online streaming video more than single-family-home residents of similar age. Fast and reliable broadband is now rated the single most important amenity.”

The findings of the report suggest that people, and not just enterprise, are increasingly realizing the benefits of all-fiber, ultra-fast broadband networks, so much so that it influences where they will live.

“The findings further validate our mission as an organization: to promote investment in and adoption of fiber services throughout the country. We’re looking forward to working with more providers, communities and leaders to make that happen,” FTTH said in the report.

To understand the preference for internet connections, FFTH surveyed condominium buyers and renters and asked what discount amount they would seek if comparing otherwise identical properties with and without fiber internet connections. Condo buyers looking at $300,000 homes said they’d seek an average $8,628 discount while renters would look for an $80 discount on a $1,000 monthly rent. Those numbers translate to 2.8 percent discounts for condo owners and 8 percent of renters—the latter amounts to an 11 percent net income gain for landlords with fiber internet.

internet