Most of us have that one neighbor that seems way too concerned with everyone else’s business. You know the type, they know everything about everyone in the neighborhood. We know nosey neighbors exists, but one study shows us just how nosey they can be, especially when you put your house up for sale. That for sale just does something to spark their curiosity. But, new research show it could be something more, such as jealousy or competition.
In a recent study, 72 percent of people revealed they would look to snoop at how much their neighbors’ house is worth after it has gone up for sale. This is according to new research from online agent Hatched.
Almost three quarters of people admitted to checking neighbors’ property value and interior style straight away if they knew it was newly on the market, showing that having a ‘For Sale’ sign outside your house automatically invites nosey parkers on your street to have a digital insight into your home.
The research looked at the competition between neighbors in terms of the assets each other have, the value of each other’s properties, and perceptions of this. The findings showed that over half of the people surveyed are indeed jealous of their neighbors, and think that their next-door neighbors have a better property than themselves.
In order of importance, the assets that neighbors look at to determine who has the better property were:
-Garden
-Car
-Interiors
-Exteriors
-Technology
You can see all the details of the study here.
Looking further into the research, the grounds of the property was clearly a way to spike jealousy amongst the neighbors, with 45 percent of people believing that their garden is the most important aspect to “show off” a property. Have green fingers and add water fountains and pebble displays – this will only make your neighbors even greener with envy.
To make the neighbors jealous, over a third of people said interiors was very important. Interestingly, women were most likely to admittedly enjoy snooping on local property listings, with over 50 percent confessing that it’s their only chance to look at their neighbor’s interiors and home furnishings.
Men, however, saw the garden or a flashy car parked on the drive to be the priority assets for the ultimate bragging tactics.
Jealousy and competition between neighbors comes in various aspects – over a fifth of people thought that technology was key to making your neighbors feel envious! Specifically, it was millennials who saw technology as the number one priority, and said they would make sure that their neighbors witness their new purchases going into the house (such as a new flat screen Smart TV, or the latest games console).
In general, the age of the respondents showed to impact their specific priorities – 35-44-year-olds seemed to be the most jealous age bracket of all, and 44-55-year-olds followed closely behind.
“We all understand that getting on with your neighbors is very important. When people move homes, one of their questions is “What are the neighbors like?”. We wanted to uncover how often the Great British public compare their property, and its value, to their neighbors’, finding out if the grass really is as green on the other side,” Adam Day, Managing Director at Hatched, said about the findings of the study. “Who knew the Great British public were such nosey parkers! It was interesting to discover that most people would check their neighbor’s property value and interior as soon as it went up for sale.”
Do you have a neighbor that seems to be a bit too nosey? Is it jealousy? Are you in competition with your neighbors?
“Living in the best-looking property on the street is a priority for some, and for others it’s a chance to look in awe and compare why theirs is better than yours.”
