A recent survey from Jitty has revealed that 28% of Brits regularly look at property websites just to see inside other people’s homes — confirming that sneaky interior snooping is one of the country’s favourite guilty pleasures.
The UK’s most enthusiastic nosey neighbours live in the North East and South West, where 36% of residents admit to checking out local homes online. They are closely followed by the South East at 35%.
Curiosity is also high in the East of England (31%), Yorkshire and the Humber (30%) and Wales (29%). London and the West Midlands are among the least intrusive at 24%, and Northern Ireland is the least nosey overall at just 19%.
The survey of 2,000 adults, carried out by Jitty, the AI-led property portal, shows that online home browsing has become a widespread pastime. While 25% admit to doing it just “to be nosey”, 27% say they browse aspirationally, exploring what they could potentially buy in the future.
Importantly, this trend reaches beyond basic house hunting. The first things people notice in listings are interior design (41%), the character of the building (38%) and the layout (33%), indicating that many view the property market as a source of lifestyle inspiration rather than purely a place to find a home.
The activity is also increasingly social. Three in ten people (30%) send listings to others on WhatsApp, while 25% enjoy receiving unsolicited property finds from friends and family. A significant portion of respondents say browsing makes them feel excited (31%), inspired (23%) or motivated (20%).
The research also exposes clear dissatisfaction with traditional property search tools. Around 35% of people want a more intuitive search experience, and 26% say they often end up looking at homes that don’t match their specifications — evidence that outdated filters and old-fashioned platforms no longer meet modern expectations.
