One in three people spend under 30 minutes choosing a new home

And two thirds of people looking at properties online say they have no intention of buying or selling

15 bedroom detached house for sale in The Bishops Avenue, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London N2. On with Knight Frank for £65,000,000

One third of adults in the UK spend less than half an hour selecting their new home, according to a new report.

Under half of the 2,061 adults questioned by Ocean Finance also said they made only two visits to the property they eventually chose, while more than a quarter had just one viewing.

Most people look at four to six properties before finding their favourite, although homehunters in London tend to visit between five and seven. Around two thirds of people only visit properties during the day.

Ian Williams of Ocean Finance says: “Maybe after waiting several years for the financial crisis to end and the housing market to take off again, most people know exactly what they are looking for. But it’s quite shocking that so many people spend less time on choosing their new home than they would watching EastEnders or Coronation Street."

Meanwhile, online estate agents Tepilo's latest figures suggest nearly three quarters of Brits looking at properties online have no intention of actually buying or selling but are simply nosy about how other people live - a third say they are fantasising about what they could have.

Sarah Beeny, co-founder of Tepilo, said: "We've noticed that many buyers aren't really looking to move, but they have a quick browse and fall in love with a home and end up buying it."

The Tepilo survey also showed that nearly 40 per cent of people wanted to see other people’s houses in the area, while around 13 per cent admitted to searching for properties to ‘steal interior ideas’ or search for ‘funny & quirky’ houses.