A city of super snoopers: 93% of Exeter residents admit to looking up how much people they know have paid for their home
A whopping 93% of people in Exeter admit to finding out what friends, family, colleagues and even their boss paid for their home, according to new research released from Zoopla.
Of the people in Exeter who look up what others have paid for their home, two fifths (41%) claim that they do this regularly. Despite the popularity in Exeter of researching the property values of others, 55% of residents in the city said they would never admit to the owner that they’d researched their home’s value.
Whilst just half (51%) of people surveyed believe it is ok to simply ask someone what they paid for their home, this information is just a few clicks away. Zoopla’s My Home experience enables users in Exeter to find out a home’s estimated value and what was paid for it, revealing if the owner has made a packet on their property. And locals can’t get enough of it.
Love thy neighbour
Curious locals are most likely to look up the sale price or value of the home of a family member (43%), a neighbour (43%) and a friend (38%). 14% have looked up how much a colleague paid for their home, and 3% have even checked out the price of their boss’s pad.
The people of Exeter appear to know the practice is a little sneaky; only half (50%) of respondents say they have ever asked anyone in person what they paid for their home. A third (35%) of people in Exeter believe asking someone what their home is worth is ‘rude’, whilst 13% say it is ‘awkward’.
Making assumptions
The research of residents in Exeter also revealed some of the assumptions made when looking up the property prices of others. More than one in ten (13%) people in the city said they assumed the person whose property they researched had more money than they originally thought, while another 9% claimed looking at the property price of someone else made them assume the person in question had come into money or received an inheritance.
An eye for design
The reactions caused by researching the property prices of others weren’t all financially related. One in four (24%) people in Exeter claimed researching the property of someone they know made them think the person had great taste, while 15% said they were surprised at how nice the property was. A further 12% of people in Exeter claimed they were surprised at how big the home was.
Bradley Duhy, Exeter Branch Manager at leading Exeter estate agency Complete Property, said: “The research from Zoopla clearly shows that most residents in Exeter love nothing more than investigating what properties are worth – particularly when it comes to homes owned by people they know. The depth of information available on websites like Zoopla means these super sleuths have a bank of knowledge at their fingertips when it comes to researching property prices and it seems like they just can’t help themselves from checking up on the property values of their nearest and dearest, even if they wouldn't feel comfortable asking them in person.”
Tom Parker, Consumer Spokesperson at Zoopla, comments: “The people of Exeter clearly love talking about house prices but one in two residents of the city admit it’s still a taboo to ask someone what they paid for their property.
“Luckily for the shy price hunters, how much a house sold for is easy to find on Zoopla. Whether it's a friend, family member or neighbour, it’s clear that people in Exeter want to know more about the homes they live in.
“This data isn’t just there just to satisfy Exeter’s nosy habits. Zoopla’s My Home Experience has been designed to empower local homeowners with all the knowledge they could possibly need when it comes to making their home-moving decisions, from finding out if their home’s estimated value has soared, to comparing it to similar homes for sale nearby.”
