A nation of super-snoopers: Majority of Brits have looked up how much others paid for their home

A nation of super-snoopers: Majority of Brits have looked up how much colleagues, family members, and even potential partners paid for their home, according to Zoopla research.

Key research findings:

Six in ten Brits admit to looking up how much people they know have paid for their home
Brits are most likely to snoop on the purchase prices of neighbours’, friends’ and families’ homes
Meanwhile 11% looked up what a colleague paid for their property, with three in ten making assumptions about a colleague’s salary after uncovering the information
A brazen one in ten have vetted someone they were dating by checking out the value of their home, and a third continued to date someone they wouldn’t have otherwise; by contrast, a quarter stopped
Ultimately, just a fifth think it’s acceptable to ask someone what their home is worth, saying it’s ‘rude’

Six in ten nosy Brits (59%) admit to finding out what friends, family, colleagues and even potential lovers paid for their home, according to new research released today from Zoopla. And while we’re seemingly a nation of brazen busy bodies, 65% of us would never admit to the owner that we’d researched their home’s value.

Whilst just 19% believe it is ok to simply ask someone what they paid for their home, Zoopla’s My Home experience means this information is just a few clicks away. It not only enables users to find out their neighbours property’s estimated value, but they can also contact an agent for an expert valuation to see how their home compares.

Love thy neighbour

Curious Brits are most likely to look up the sale price or value of the home of a neighbour (36%), a friend (34%) or a family member (29%). But more than one in ten (11%) have looked up how much a colleague paid for their home, and 3% have even checked out the price of their boss’s pad. Nearly three in ten (28%) say they made presumptions about a colleague’s salary after seeing how much their home was worth.

Brits appear to know the practice is a little sneaky; just one in five (20%) say they have ever asked anyone in person what they paid for their home. Indeed, 37% believe asking someone what their home is worth is ‘rude’, whilst 28% say it is ‘awkward’.

Rise of the free-hold digger?

The research also uncovered surprising findings regarding how many people appear to vet potential partners by checking out their home online first. Nearly one in ten (8%) say they have checked out the value of the home of a partner, ex-partner or someone they were dating.

And this had a surprisingly strong impact on how the relationships developed, with nearly a third (32%) saying they have continued to date someone they wouldn’t have otherwise after viewing their home online, with the figure rising to 46% for those aged 35-44.

A further 50% say it ‘encouraged’ them to keep seeing someone – rising to 63% for men. Meanwhile a quarter (24%) say they have stopped seeing someone after seeing the value of their home – again rising to 30% for men.

A jealous streak

Romance-aside, the research found that seeing how much someone’s house is worth can have an impact on how they feel about them. 11% admit to feeling jealous after looking up the value of someone’s property, 10% say they respected someone more, and 9% even said they liked someone more after looking up their home online.

However, value isn’t the only reason Brits pry on other people’s homes online. Nearly a quarter (23%) say it is to get a better idea of what their own home is worth, whilst 18% are simply curious to see what someone’s home looks like on the inside.

Tom Parker, Consumer Spokesperson at Zoopla, comments:

“We’ve long been known as a property obsessed nation and our latest research highlights just how interested many Brits are in finding out the value of their neighbours’, friends’ and even bosses’ homes. Agents have a key role to play in educating consumers on the accurate value of a property and ensuring they’re not simply comparing their property to others, but also considering how more hidden factors like EPC ratings, property layout and internal renovations can impact the value of a home.”

Kindly shared by Zoopla

Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay