It’s hardly surprising, considering we’re one of the few European countries where being a homeowner – and aspiring to it - is more common than being a renter. And what with property values tending to go up (largely – recessions aside), we Brits see our homes as our nest egg, as well as just our nest.
Estate agents Keatons surveyed 2,000 home owners in the UK to find out how clued-up we are about property values. And it turns out we’re fairly savvy – and not just when it comes to our own! In fact, over a third of us (36%) have checked up on the value of a friend, family member’s, or neighbour’s property, using an online property valuation tool. This could be out of envy, or just plain curiosity – but it goes to show we’re a bit of a nosey nation when it comes to other people’s money.
Of these nosey parkers, men are more likely to check out the competition (we imagine they don’t like the idea that anyone they know is worth more than they are…), while, regionally, those in the East Midlands (44%) are most likely to be sniffing around their neighbours’ property prices, followed by North West (41%) and North East & South East (39%). Those in the East are the least interested in finding out the value of property of their neighbours (24%).
Obviously, the most important property value to know is our own, and even without specifically searching, over half of us (53%) know how much our place is worth. And we’re also pretty optimistic about house prices – nearly a third of us (32%) think the value of our property will go up this year – that’s even despite Brexit and the Trumpageddon! Of these positive souls, 64% are from the East of England.
21% of us are erring on the side of caution, and think our home’s value will stay static, while pessimists make up 7.2% of us, who believe our home value will decrease – of those doom-mongers, the most gloomy were from the North West (23%).
A spokesperson for Keatons said: "It’s a very British thing, to be preoccupied with property and prices. An Englishman’s home is his castle, after all! It’s important to keep an eye on values, though; that way you know when the right time to move, or improve, might be."
