Good mobile phone signal is now more important for buyers than the quality and performance of local schools. This is according to findings from the second annual house purchasing decision survey by RootMetrics.

The independent mobile analytics company’s research found that 83% of people have experienced poor mobile phone signal at their home, while just over half (54%) have had issues with their mobile internet. With the use of landlines becoming increasingly rare, 47% of people have experienced poor call quality at home. As such, the desire of buyers to move somewhere with excellent, reliable phone signal is high.

30% of people would have thought twice about buying or renting a home if they had known about the poor mobile performance before moving in, while 66% have considered switching providers just so they can use their phone properly indoors.

As a result of this, more sellers are starting to realise the benefits of good signal at their home in the same way they currently promote fast broadband speeds and local utilities. In fact, 41% of people said they would now promote having good mobile phone signal as part of their overall strategy to find a buyer.

“We now rely on our mobiles as much as our TVs and computers at home, and we are seeing the importance of having good mobile experience shoot up the list of priorities,” Scott Stonham, General Manager or RootMetrics Europe, said.

“It seems many have moved to a property and found they are having recurring problems with their current operator. The property market has rarely been more heated and the shortage of homes is only heightening people’s desire to move up the ladder, but buyers and renters should be taking into consideration every factor before making a decision, including the quality of their mobile signal at home.”

He concluded: “A very simple way of doing this is by remembering to run a quick test on the mobile performance whilst viewing a property, just as you would check the broadband speeds.”