A new survey from Jitty has revealed that more than a quarter of Brits (28%) openly admit to browsing property websites purely to peek inside their neighbours’ homes — confirming that having a nose around other people’s interiors is one of the UK’s favourite guilty pleasures.
Regionally, the North East and South West top the charts as the nosiest areas, with 36% of residents admitting to digital snooping, closely followed by the South East at 35%.
Other regions where neighbourly curiosity runs high include the East of England (31%), Yorkshire and the Humber (30%) and Wales (29%). Meanwhile, London and the West Midlands both sit at 24%, and Northern Ireland emerges as the least nosey, with just 19% confessing to the habit.
The poll of 2,000 adults, conducted by Jitty — the UK’s AI-powered property portal — reveals that browsing homes online has become a major national pastime, driven by entertainment, curiosity and escapism. While 25% say they do it “purely out of nosiness”, 27% browse to gauge what they might one day afford, even if they have no intention of moving.
This growing “home browsing culture” extends well beyond checking house prices. Brits say the first things they notice are interior décor (41%), building character (38%) and layout (33%), suggesting that online property searches increasingly resemble Pinterest scrolling rather than a traditional hunt for listings.
Almost one in three (30%) regularly share property links with loved ones via WhatsApp, and 25% say they enjoy receiving surprise listings from friends and family — turning home browsing into a shared social activity. Many people say the habit makes them feel excited (31%), inspired (23%) or motivated (20%).
However, the findings also reveal frustration with outdated property search tools. More than a third of respondents (35%) want home searching to feel more intuitive, and 26% often end up browsing properties outside their chosen criteria, showing that static filters and rigid websites no longer match how people use property platforms today.
