Does Faster Internet Service Affect Arizona Home Prices?

Last year, The Wall Street Journal published an article about How Fast Internet Affects Home Prices. It cited a nationwide study which concluded that “fiber-optic connections, the fastest type of high speed Internet available, can add $5,437 to the price of a $175,000 home.”

Could high-speed internet improve Arizona home prices by as much as 3-percent? I posed the question to some of my peers on Facebook.

One REALTOR® pointed out that these results were mostly based on rural areas where internet speeds tend to drop dramatically. Maybe so, but according to a U.S. Census Bureau report, Arizona ranked 35th on Internet Use in the U.S. and had 60% of its counties identified as rural per the federal Office of Management and Budget.

Before leaving Southern California, Designated REALTOR® Harold Sharpe remembered getting 75 megabits per second (Mbps) upload and download speeds, but now feels lucky to get 50 down and 8 up.

“When people buy homes,” Sharpe said, “nearly everyone checks to see if they have cellphone reception and 4G wireless internet service. If we had gigabit internet service in Lake Havasu, we could sell more homes.”

Cable providers are addressing signal strength. “We’ve spent the past year-plus installing 1 GIG internet service across the Valley,” said Andrea Katsenes, spokesperson for COX Communications Arizona. “It’s a big undertaking, but as we bring neighborhoods ‘online’, we market in the area…and where appropriate, work with HOAs.”

Communications Manager Stephanie Meisse said that last September, “CenturyLink expanded fiber-enabled gigabit service to residential and small business customers in select areas of Anthem, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson.”

Where does that leave Lake Havasu and the rest of the state? COX, CenturyLink and now Google Fiber are sharing links to determine what speeds are available in each area. See what your options are by clicking Cox.com/residential/internet/gigablast, CenturyLink.com/fiber and Fiber.google.com/newcities.

Arizona REALTORS® will continue to monitor the impact that high-speed internet may have on home prices.

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