How Nosey Are You When It Comes To Property Prices?

At Prestige & Village, we know people love property prices, and many households take considerable interest in what people pay. It turns out you are not alone, as a recent study suggests many people take more than a passing interest in the price people pay for property.

Would you ask someone what they paid for their home?

Research carried out by Zoopla looked at people’s relationship with local prices, and what other people pay for homes:

59% of respondents said they find out what friends, family members, colleagues and even potential partners pay for their home
65% of respondents say they’d never tell the owner they had researched the value of their property
Only 19% of respondents think it is okay to ask someone what they paid for their home
36% of people said they would look up the sale price or value of a neighbour’s home
34% said they would check out the price a friend paid for their home
29% of respondents said they would research what a family member paid for their home
11% said they would check out what a colleague paid for their property
3% said they would look into what their boss paid for their home
28% of respondents said they made presumptions about the earnings of a colleague after finding out what price their home was

Is it rude to ask someone what they paid for their home?

We know that many people find talking about money to be rude, or perhaps not befitting. It is just as well that you can find out house prices online! Anyone with an interest in local house prices should contact us, and we will be more than happy to guide you.

The survey provided the following findings:

Only 20% of respondents have asked someone what they paid for their home
37% of respondents said asking what someone paid for their home is rude
28% of respondents said a conversation about property prices is awkward
8% of respondents said they check out the price of property owned by a partner, an ex-partner or someone they are dating
32% of respondents say they have continued to date someone they wouldn’t have otherwise after viewing their property online
For people aged between 35 and 44, this proportion rises to 46%
50% of respondents said the value of a partners home encouraged them to keep seeing them, with the figure for men coming in at 63%
24% of respondents said they stopped dating someone after seeing the value of their home, with 30% of men stopping dating a partner for this reason

What emotions do you feel when discussing house prices?

We know buying or selling a home is often an emotional time.

The survey uncovered the following emotions felt by people when discussing house prices:

11% of respondents admit to feeling jealous when seeing the value of someone’s home
10% said they respected someone more after seeing the value of their home
9% said they liked someone more after seeing their home when looking online
23% say they look at other homes to get a better value of what their home is worth
18% admit to being curious as to 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.”

Tom also said; “Buttoned up Britons love talking about house prices – but for most, asking someone straight-up what they paid for their home is still considered a taboo. But how much a house sold for is publicly available information and is easy to source online. Whether it’s your boss, a friend or even a potential partner, it’s clear we want to know more about the homes they live in and will often treat them differently as a result.”

At Prestige & Village, we care about our community, and supporting others. We aim to provide you with as much help and assistance as we can. If you have any property or housing questions, please feel free to contact us today.