Cookie policy
Follow this topicFollow this topic Knowledge » Buying and selling property

Third of us spy on our neighbours

John Fitzsimons
by Lovemoney Staff John Fitzsimons on 18 June 2012  |  Comments 8 comments

A new survey suggests we can't resist a nose in our neighbours' or friends' homes.

Third of us spy on our neighbours

A third of us use property portals or visit estate agents to spy on the interior, or check the prices, or our friends’ and neighbours’ homes.

That’s according to a new survey by FindAProperty.com. 35% of respondents said they have logged on to a portal or gone to a local estate agent branch specifically to have a nose at the homes of their friends or neighbours.

One in ten said that they were prone to peek through a neighbour’s window to see what their home looks like on the inside.

And 6% of respondents said they had had a snoop around inside their neighbour’s home when asked to check up on it when the neighbour was away on holiday.

A nation of nosey neighbours?

The first thing to say is that this survey was only of 2,011 people. So while FindAProperty.com would love to extrapolate from that that 17.5 million of us are going out of our way to have a nose at our neighbour’s homes, it’s a bit of a stretch.

But it does raise the question of just how nosey a nation we are when it comes to property.

Personally, I couldn’t care less about the décor or apparent value of my neighbour’s homes. But then I’m not trying to sell. Would my attitude change if the house next door went onto the market at £20,000 more than we paid for our home?

Many years ago, my parents put their home on the market. A house on the same street was already on the market – at about £15,000 less than my parents’ home – and wasn’t selling. I vividly remember the owner’s outrage at the apparent value of the home I grew up in. He demanded to know what it was that made our home more expensive.

I’ve no doubt that, given the chance, he’d have loved a nose around inside.

Are you always interested in the layout and value of the homes around you, or those owned by your friends? Or does it only become an issue when you are thinking of moving?

Let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.

More on buying and selling property:

Five reasons you should never buy leasehold

Mortgage rates are going up... and down

Why house sellers are deluded

Enjoyed this? Show it some love

Twitter
General

Comments (8)

  • eLJay
    Love rating 76
    eLJay said

    Or alternatively a third of houses have no option but to spy on their neighbours as they have paper thin walls and overlook their neighbours properties!

    Report on 25 June 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • wondrinfree
    Love rating 12
    wondrinfree said

    Firstly it was a third of respondants not a third of all people. Perhaps there is a majority of people who are not interested in other people's houses and are also unmotivated to tell people about it.

    Looking at many of the posts above there seems to be a ubiquitous need to sneer at other people though, funnily enough they are doing the same thing as the people they criticise. Why don't we live and let live?

    I personally think aspiration is a good thing and in my experience is driven by wanting better and to be better, for myself, not to make any statements to anyone else.

    Report on 25 June 2012  |  Love thisLove  2 loves

Post a comment

Sign in or register to post a reply.

Related content

Our top deals

Credit card
company 		Balance transfers rate and period Representative
APR 		Apply
now

Barclaycard 26Mth Platinum Visa

0% for 26 months (3.5% fee) Representative 18.9% APR (variable) Apply
Representative example: assumed borrowing of £1,200, representative 18.9% APR (variable). Purchase rate 18.9% PA (variable)

Barclaycard 25Mth Platinum Visa

0% for 25 months (2.4% fee) Representative 18.9% APR (variable) Apply
Representative example: assumed borrowing of £1,200, representative 18.9% APR (variable). Purchase rate 18.9% PA (variable). BT fee is reduced from 3.5% to 2.4% (T&Cs apply)

Halifax BT 25 Month MasterCard

0% for 25 months (2.5% fee) Representative 18.9% APR (variable) Apply
Representative example: assumed borrowing of £1,200, representative 18.9% APR (variable). Purchase rate 19.0% PA (variable).
W3C  Thank you for using CGWEBLIV1