The recent announcement of superfast broadband making its way to North Devon could be good news for house-hunters, as demand for high broadband speed becomes a priority.

Property portal Rightmove conducted research following the introduction of its new broadband tool, which provides data about broadband speeds and availability for house-hunters.

The researched revealed that among over 3,000 Rightmove users, broadband details were ranked as a more important feature when searching for a property than information on transport links and schools.

Connecting Devon and Somerset announced that several North Devon villages are set to benefit from superfast broadband. These areas include Braunton, Swimbridge, Landkey, Ashford, Heanton Punchardon and Mortehoe, which could be positive news for properties in the area.

The Connecting Devon and Somerset programme aims to make superfast broadband available to around 90 per cent of homes and businesses by the end of 2016.

Malcolm Prescott, managing director at Webbers said: "Broadband speeds are more important to some people yes, those that need the superfast broadband for work from home purposes. However there are many buyers who would not see this as top of the list.

"North Devon, like so many areas in the West Country is popular with out of town buyers on the basis that we are lucky enough to live in a lovely place first and foremost- ideal for bringing up a family or just living."

Sue Bushnell, director of Bushnell & Green said: "It is good news for these villages. It's always worth remembering that for homes in areas with poor broadband reception there are alternatives such as satellite broadband, offered by Avonline, amongst others, or the wireless non-satellite system provided by proved by Wild West Net whose network services are centred on Barnstaple.

"These services tend to be slightly more expensive (around £25 per month), so lack of traditional broadband need not preclude buyers from having a fast, reliable connection."

Miles Hamer, sales negotiator at The Wright Property said: "It's good news overall, but there's still some existing infrastructure that could really benefit from this update.

"Fremington, for instance, has very poor slow broadband speed nationally. Prospective tenants do their research: if it turns out that the internet speed doesn't benefit their needs, it's a genuine reason to not rent a property. We'd like to see that change very soon."

Jenny Cowling of Cowlings estate agents said: "This really is good news for the area, as people looking for property online now will have faster connections especially in village locations, which has to be good for business as up to 80% of property enquiries come from online interest in the first instance."

Bernard Phillips, head of consumer platforms at Rightmove said: "We already offer a number of tools to help customers make informed decisions about a property including local schools and transport links, and we're pleased to be the first to add data on broadband, something that has become ingrained in people's lives and an important factor when choosing a home."