Most everyone has heard the old real estate adage about the 3 things that matter being “location, location, location.” Today, when access to fiber internet is still limited to certain areas, location is more important than ever, but for different reasons - especially for businesses.

More Important Than Water?

Broadband internet has become a real estate requirement no less vital than water – perhaps even more so for businesses. In fact, with the rise of online shopping, location as it relates to broadband access is often even more important to businesses than location per se.

Fiber Increases Value

Perhaps it should come as no surprise then, that a location’s access to fiber now has a direct corollary relationship with real estate value. There are many studies which corroborate this, including the 2021 FBA 2021 Broadband Consumer Study, which finds that access to fiber internet increases the value of “homes by 3.4%, apartment rental prices by 8.1% and apartment operating income by 15%.” Here is another, from the Applied Economics Journal, which puts the home value increase closer to 3%.

No matter what study you reference, the numbers might be slightly different, but the results are the same – access to fiber internet consistently increases real estate value. It makes sense – when something is one of the main concerns that buyers have about a property, and not every property has that thing - well, then that thing is going to be a driver of price.

If you own your own office space or are renting one to others, there’s no question that you can add value to your real estate investment by upgrading your internet infrastructure to fiber.