MORE than half of Brits are guilty of ‘roomscrolling’ – casually looking at properties they have no intention of buying.
A study of 2,000 adults revealed 42 per cent love to daydream about other people’s homes.
And 69 per cent often browse estate agent windows to see what properties are for sale and how much they are – with almost one in 10 (seven per cent) doing this every time they walk past one.
But 56 per cent do this even if they can’t afford to buy a home, with 31 per cent going as far as sharing pics with their friends and family via WhatsApp, text or email.
Graham Paterson, CEO of AI-powered property search engine Jitty, which commissioned the survey, said: “People love looking at other people’s properties and chatting about them with pals.
“We can walk past hundreds of homes each day but never know what they look like on the inside – which is why it’s so interesting to have a peek online.
“It’s not all about being nosey though, looking at other properties is a great source of inspiration and it’s interesting to see what other people can do with a space similar to your own – and how much they are selling for.”
Of those who enjoy roomscrolling, 34 per cent like to look at properties miles out of their price range.
Just 29 per cent search for properties they could actually afford to buy.
It also emerged simply having a look inside a neighbour’s home is the most popular reason for roomscrolling (28 per cent).
While others like to see what kind of property they could afford in the future (27 per cent) and how their own home compares to others in the area (24 per cent).
A nosey 12 per cent like to see how much friends have paid for their homes and 15 per cent simply find it relaxing.
The research, commissioned via OnePoll, also found 22 per cent feel motivated after spending time looking at what’s on the market.
Behavioural Psychologist Jo Hemmings said: “We have an innate desire to be curious, and from babies we are intrigued by, and learn from, our local surroundings.
“It’s interesting to see how many people like to have a look in estate agent’s windows and compare what’s on the market to their own home.
“This triggers our social bonding hormone, oxytocin – increasing our desire to learn about our neighbours’ living spaces and style, dopamine, the pleasure and reward we get as a result of our indulging our curiosity and cortisol, which heightens our awareness of social comparison.
“With so many searching for properties out of their price range there is a strong aspirational ‘what if we could afford?’ aspect to their roomscrolling.
“This gives us positive visualisation and a sense of escapism, as well as an inspirational motivation to see how they can improve their own homes to the latest standards by seeing prestigious or modern décor, style and design.
“By roomscrolling, there doesn’t seem to be a sense of ‘house envy’ or disappointment but more a form of stress relief from our everyday routines, a feeling of self-enhancement – just by imagining ourselves living in such homes – and the ease of which we can look at the curated perfection of online homes, influencing our own choices for our own homes.”
