Did you know?

Around 7.2 million Britons browse property portals every week with no intention of buying or selling.

Recent industry research reported by The Negotiator shows that casual browsing now makes up a significant proportion of portal activity. Roughly 60 percent of adults, more than 30 million people, admit they “cannot resist” searching listings and describe their behaviour as binge-browsing with no real purpose.

The reasons are revealing.

37 percent scroll listings and fantasise about dream homes.
36 percent regularly browse properties in their dream location.
27 percent spend time looking at luxury homes.

More than a third admit they regularly look up neighbouring properties.
35 percent say they track down neighbours’ homes online and snoop on people living next door or close by.
28 percent use portals to check the price of someone else’s property.
26 percent browse listings to estimate the value of their own home.

Others browse for inspiration rather than intent, with 19 percent looking for interior design ideas and 12 percent searching for extension or layout inspiration.

Many openly describe the habit as addictive and admit they browse purely out of curiosity, comparing their own home against others on the street or sense checking values.

Property portals have become modern day window shopping.

This matters, because portal views and casual browsing do not reflect genuine buyer demand and do not provide a reliable guide to what a home is actually worth.

If you are using listings to gauge your local market or understand the value of your own home, a professional valuation based on genuine buyer behaviour, local demand, and achieved prices will give far clearer insight.

That is how we advise our clients at Danehurst.