For decades, internet service providers (ISPs) largely viewed residential customer acquisition through a simple lens: build network coverage, market aggressively, and capture households within a service area.
For ISPs, the landscape has radically changed over the last 5 years and fundamentally altered customer acquisition economics – driven by historical shifts in the housing market.
Providers that understand housing market dynamics—and position themselves to engage consumers throughout the entire moving journey—will gain a significant competitive advantage. Those that continue to view customer acquisition as beginning after a customer starts living at a premise risk losing market share to competitors that engage earlier.
How COVID Changed the Housing Market Forever
When COVID-19 arrived in 2020, it triggered unprecedented shifts in housing demand.
Remote work suddenly freed millions of Americans from daily commutes. Urban renters began looking for larger homes, home offices, and more affordable living arrangements. Migration accelerated from expensive metropolitan centers toward suburbs, exurbs, and fast-growing Sun Belt markets. Entire housing markets experienced surges in demand as consumers prioritized space, affordability, and lifestyle flexibility.
At the same time, mortgage rates plunged to historic lows, creating a homebuying frenzy. Millions of Americans refinanced or purchased homes with mortgage rates below 3%, locking in monthly payments that would soon become impossible to replicate.
For broadband providers, this migration wave created enormous opportunity. Not only were more homes “in play” for service, but customer demand for reliable, high-quality internet to enable remote work surged. Every move represented a broadband purchase decision. Every household changing addresses needed internet service, often immediately.
Many providers benefited from this elevated housing turnover. Customer acquisition became easier because the market itself was generating movement.
That environment was, unfortunately, short-lived.
The Mortgage Rate Shock and Housing Slowdown
Beginning in 2022, inflation surged across the U.S. economy.
To combat inflation, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates aggressively. Mortgage rates followed.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate moved from roughly 3% during the pandemic housing boom to around 7% in subsequent years.
The impact on housing activity was immediate and profound.
Homeowners who had secured mortgages below 3% suddenly faced the prospect of doubling their borrowing costs if they sold and purchased another property. Economists began referring to this phenomenon as the mortgage lock-in effect, or “golden handcuffs.”
Research from the Federal Housing Finance Agency found that rising mortgage rates significantly reduced mobility and housing transactions. One analysis estimated that more than 1.7 million housing transactions were effectively lost due to the lock-in effect between 2022 and 2024.
The consequences have been dramatic:
- Median home prices reached record highs, exceeding $400,000
- Existing home sales fell to their lowest level in 30 years
- Inventory remained constrained as homeowners stayed put rather than relinquish low-rate mortgages.
For ISPs, this created a challenging paradox.
Demand for internet service remained strong, but the number of residential moves—the lifeblood of customer acquisition—declined sharply.
In previous cycles, customer growth could be driven by housing turnover. In today's market, every move has become more valuable with added scarcity.
Housing Affordability Has Reshaped Consumer Behavior
The affordability crisis has changed more than transaction volume - it has fundamentally altered consumer priorities. The combination of record housing prices and inflation impacting essential goods like groceries and energy have forced consumers to become far more price-conscious.
For broadband providers, this means prospective customers are evaluating internet service with greater scrutiny. Monthly costs matter. Promotional offers matter. And major decisions – like home buying – have become more complex. Customers are looking to save not only money, but time with convenience.
The ISP Customer Acquisition Funnel
Consumers navigating the home purchase process are overwhelmed with decisions. Mortgage lenders, real estate agents, moving companies, utility providers, insurance carriers, and service providers are all competing for attention during a compressed timeframe.
The brands that simplify the process often win, creating a significant opportunity for ISPs that engage consumers before move-in day.
Historically, many ISPs focused their acquisition efforts after a move occurred.
Today's winning providers understand that customer acquisition begins long before internet installation after a new prospect moves into a home.
Stage 1: The “Precognition” Stage
Selling a home is not a rash, off-the-cuff decision. Multiple factors drive the home sale decision. As customer intelligence becomes more developed, it will become easier to recognize these signs in advance.
Household characteristics can often presage the decision to sell a home like:
- Changes in household size, or marital status indicate life change events like new children, divorce or caring for older parents
- Children’s ages can indicate coming “empty nesting” status
- Income fluctuations can indicate the potential need for upgrading/downsizing
Beyond household demographics, certain geographic areas (census blocks, franchises, etc.) can be identified as “high turnover” areas.
Marketers that can recognize these signs will have distinct advantage see potential movers in advance.
Stage 2: The Listing Phase
The listing phase begins when a property enters the market - this is the earliest point at which a future broadband purchase becomes predictable.
At this stage, prospective buyers are evaluating neighborhoods, schools, commute times, property features, and other features like insurance and utility costs and connectivity.
Brand awareness is critical here. Many providers can also transfer service to a new location (over a third of all moves are within the same city or town, often in the same provider footprint)
Stage 3: Under Contract
Once a buyer enters contract, intent becomes highly predictable.
The move is no longer theoretical – it starts the clock ticking on the next connect date.
Consumers are actively assembling their moving checklist. They are scheduling utilities, changing addresses, arranging insurance, and coordinating logistics.
ISPs that integrate into this phase through partnerships with real estate platforms, lenders, title companies, movers, and relocation services can become part of the planning process rather than an afterthought.
Instead of waiting for customers to shop, providers can become the default choice.
Stage 4: Closing and Move-In
Closing remains a critical conversion window, as customers now expect connectivity immediately.
The provider that offers the simplest path to service activation often wins. Install scheduling and onboarding require agility -- the objective is to eliminate any friction between home purchase and internet activation.
Slow timing and additional steps create an opportunity for a competitor to intervene.
Stage 5: Post-Sale Engagement
Many providers stop thinking about movers once installation is complete, which is a mistake.
The post-sale phase represents an opportunity to build long-term loyalty and increase customer lifetime value. Many customers downgrade or drop their service within the first 45 days. Maintaining engagement post the install is the beginning of the customer relationship — not simply the end of the acquisition cycle.
The Future Belongs to Housing-Centric ISP Growth Strategies
Clearly, the moves are a critical component of any provider’s high yield marketing playbook.
The providers that align their acquisition strategies with the housing lifecycle will be best positioned to grow in an increasingly competitive environment. Success will depend on understanding not just where consumers live, but when they are making decisions.
In an era defined by affordability challenges and inflationary pressure, the battle to win new residents will be won by companies take an active involvement in the moving process. It’s not enough to be a part of the conversation – the winner will be the provider at the front of the line.
