By Gary Dickson garydickson@siouxlandobserver.com

Are you ready for FiberComm’s new fiber optic internet service? As we mentioned in a previous article, the company started construction today (Tuesday) so they could begin laying it in Dakota Dunes. That way, every residence in the community will have the option of hooking up to fiber-to-the-home internet, or FTTH, as the fiber broadband industry abbreviates the service.

There are always a lot of lofty claims associated with new products and services and this new FTTH has not been afraid to use them. One claim in particular is that the service will increase the value of one’s home. Of course, high-speed internet is a highly sought-after amenity for homebuyers. FiberComm and the fiber broadband industry proclaim that FTTH can increase your home’s value by 3.1 percent and give you an edge in the real estate market when it’s time to sell.

Whether the above claim is true and if it bears out would probably depend on the real estate market. The claim is based on a single study done in 2015 and was sponsored by the Fiber Broadband Association, a national trade organization. The Siouxland Observer was unable to gain access to view the study through the Fiber Broadband Association’s webpage. A Google search showed multiple citings of the same study, nearly all by telecommunications companies. There were no further published studies to back up the claim of FTTH increasing a home’s value that we could find.

So, if one is going to purchase FTTH for their home, it appears they should make their decision based on technological needs and wants, rather than the hope that installing the service will increase the value of their home. No matter what FiberComm says, a single study done in 2015 is not scientific proof that the new technology will make someone pay 3 percent or more for your home when it comes to selling it.

There are better ways to increase your home’s value. We sold our house in Morningside in 2017 and moved to Dakota Dunes. None of the improvements we made to increase the house’s value in the last couple of years involved high-speed internet.

According to an article on the financial site, Bankrate.com published July 3, 2023, written by David McMillin, the eight best ways to increase the value of your home are:

1. Clean and declutter
2. Add usable square footage
3. Make your home more energy-efficient
4. Spruce it up with fresh paint
5. Work on your curb appeal
6. Upgrade your exterior doors
7. Give your kitchen an updated look
8. Stage your home

Bankrate’s writer cited several sources in his story. None of them recommended investing in fiber broadband as a way to increase your home’s value prior to selling it.