A new survey from Jitty has uncovered that 28% of people in the UK browse property sites simply to look inside their neighbours’ homes — confirming that Britain’s favourite quiet pastime is having a peek behind someone else’s front door.
The North East and South West lead the country for nosey behaviour, with 36% of residents in each region admitting to property-based snooping, closely followed by the South East at 35%.
Other regions with high levels of neighbourly curiosity include the East of England (31%), Yorkshire and the Humber (30%) and Wales (29%). Meanwhile, London and the West Midlands both sit well below the national average at 24%, and Northern Ireland is the least nosey at just 19%.
The poll of 2,000 UK adults, conducted by AI-powered property portal Jitty, reveals that browsing home listings has become a national form of entertainment. A quarter of respondents say they browse “purely out of nosiness”, while 27% scroll through listings to understand what they might afford someday, even if they have no plans to move.
This growing “home browsing culture” shows that people are drawn to more than just square footage and asking prices. What catches their eye first is interior style (41%), architectural character (38%) and layout (33%), suggesting property listings are being used more like inspiration boards than traditional search tools.
Sharing listings has also become commonplace: 30% send links to friends and family on WhatsApp, and 25% enjoy receiving random property suggestions. Many associate the activity with positivity, saying it makes them feel excited (31%), inspired (23%) or motivated (20%).
Yet despite the enthusiasm, frustrations remain. More than one-third of people (35%) believe home searching should feel more intuitive, while 26% frequently end up viewing homes well outside their chosen criteria — highlighting how dated filters and rigid website designs fail to match modern browsing habits.
Graham Paterson, CEO and co-founder of Jitty, said: “The fact that so many people are peeking inside their neighbours’ homes tells you everything you need to know about how Britain feels about property – it fascinates us, it entertains us, and it connects us. But it also shows why traditional search tools don’t cut it anymore. People don’t think in filters; they think in feelings, styles and lifestyles. AI finally bridges that gap by letting you describe exactly what you imagine – and instantly seeing homes that match. That’s the future people clearly want.”
The findings come as Jitty continues its rapid growth, on track to exceed half a million monthly property searches. Its AI-powered natural-language search now accounts for the majority of user interactions, with 75% of people preferring it over traditional filtering.
Backed by REA Group and Gradient Ventures (Google’s AI fund), Jitty offers an AI-powered, image-first way to browse the property market, allowing users to search naturally, visually and intuitively. As the UK’s property browsing habit accelerates, Jitty is leading a new era of smarter, more conversational discovery.
For more information, visit www.jitty.com.
