This Factor Has Become as Important to Homeowners as a Personal Parking Spot

According to a large-scale survey conducted by YIT, for Estonians, the most important factors for a home are its low maintenance costs, sufficient space and storage for personal belongings, and high construction quality. Somewhat surprisingly, however, fast internet has also made it into the TOP10 list of important factors, with 88% of people considering it just as important for a home as having a personal parking space.

According to YIT Estonia's sales director Eva-Liisa Tamm, homeowners have realized that to enjoy all the comforts of modern life, a regular internet connection with speeds below 100 Mb/s is no longer sufficient. Fast internet is particularly important for households with more than four members.

"The difference between regular and ultra-fast internet is felt by both those who work from home and family members who enjoy their free time at home. When one family member is watching their favorite Netflix series, another is conquering new levels in a computer game, a third is spending time on YouTube watching funny animal videos, and the home security system, television and other home appliances are also connected to the internet, then with regular internet speeds, disruptions are inevitable," said Tamm.

According to her, slow internet is particularly problematic for those who work from home with large files or need to participate in many video calls.

"Many probably remember how during the pandemic, to improve call quality during video meetings, the camera had to be turned off or the meeting time had to be chosen so that no other family member would be in a meeting at the same time. Choppy image and broken call problems in the middle of an intense work meeting can be extremely frustrating. When working with large files, at 20Mbit/s speeds it might be more sensible to go to the office than to wait for minutes for documents to open. With ultra-fast internet, such problems do not occur," said the YIT representative with examples.

Although a fast internet connection has become essential for homeowners, it may not always be available.

"The YIT team considers the installation of fiber optic cable necessary to ensure ultra-fast internet already when designing new homes. In some areas, however, fiber optic internet is not yet available, so before signing a home purchase contract, it is worth inquiring from both the developer and various internet service providers whether and at what speed internet connection is planned for the building, to avoid disappointment later," recommended Eva-Liisa Tamm.

According to the survey conducted by YIT, a fast internet connection is as important to homeowners as having a personal parking space, the beautiful appearance of the home and its soundproofing.

"Access to a fast internet connection is considered much more important than other, often basic conveniences such as food stores and public transport stops in close proximity to the home or quick connections to the workplace, schools and kindergartens," noted the YIT representative.

Homeowners care the least about how close their home is to entertainment facilities – only 18% of respondents considered this important for a home.

"Somewhat unexpectedly, it turned out that one of the least important factors in choosing a place to live is also the presence of a playground. Although in the immediate vicinity of most apartment buildings there are often several playgrounds, only a third of respondents found this to be an important indicator for them. Yet four out of five people feel the lack of fast internet," commented Tamm.