When a for-sale sign goes up, it’s time for Brits to start snooping

As a new survey finds that 700,000 house viewings a year are made by people just wanting to have a good nose about a stranger’s home, Flic Everett says it’s morally wrong to waste estate agents’ time – but deeply satisfying

One in 14 home viewings are made by timewasters who want to look around a place they have no intention of buying

Laid to lawn, two en suite bathrooms, dual aspect, south-facing…”

Eagerly, I click on the Rightmove listing to check the price, and nip to Google Earth to admire the leafy street, close to good schools and amenities. I might book a viewing to get a good close-up look at the airy through-lounge and the spacious kitchen with butler’s sink.

The only thing is, I’m not moving house.

I live in a cottage in rural Scotland and I’m perfectly happy. I’m also on a novelist’s budget – I can barely afford a garden shed. But like millions of us, that doesn’t stop me from scrolling and dreaming about other people’s houses.

A mighty 64 per cent of us check listings once a month, even though only 13 per cent of us are actually considering a move. Rather charmingly, 88 per cent admitted they’re “just a bit nosy”. We’re still a nation of curtain-twitchers.

Autumn is moving season, and Britain is a nation of hopeful homeowners. Those who rent want to own, and those who own want to own something bigger. The chain of aspiration basically stops at Buckingham Palace, which the King finds too large and draughty. Nobody’s happy.

A new survey by property data firm Moverly has found that one in 14 appointments are made by timewasters, who spend half an hour looking round a place they have no intention of buying; these are my people.

Obviously, their behaviour is deeply morally wrong. What amounts to an estimated 700,000 pointless viewing appointments every year not only wastes people’s time, it gives the buyer false hope, it robs the estate agent of their bonus, it gives statisticians a skewed idea of the property market.

And, alright, fine – I’ve done it myself.

Once, it was for a house I loved so much based on the listing that I went to sleep imagining the life my family and I could lead there, the way I’d put in a kitchen island and create a secret walled garden behind the garage. I woke up almost convinced it would be mine, even though our budget fell at least £100,000 beneath the asking price.

Perhaps the buyers were looking for a quick sale and were philanthropists with no need for vulgarities like money? I booked a viewing, asked all the right questions of the estate agent, down to rubbish collection and council tax, and then watched as the owner accepted an offer way over the full asking price the following day.

It was never going to be mine, but it still hurt.

More recently, I dragged my husband to see a cottage that’s come onto the market near us. I have an ongoing dream of being a holiday landlady, revamping an adorable croft as a writer’s retreat, and sourcing exquisite antiques from Facebook Marketplace.

“The roof needs replacing and those stairs will have to come out,” my husband said, flatly. “Yes, but,” I said, quickly glossing over the structural issues, “I could put a little desk in that alcove!”

Reader, I did not. I’m back to my bedtime scroll of Rightmove, often around areas I will never live in, including Kensington and Chelsea, Edinburgh Old Town and the Outer Hebrides.

I suspect we’re all at it. Snooping is practically a national sport, and the arrival of Zoopla allows us to do it from the comfort of our current homes.

Of course, living so close to our neighbours, as a nation we’re unbelievably nosy. It’s always fascinating to see how the other half of the street lives. And, whether or not we like the homes we have, it’s a pleasant dream to imagine a little more space, a bit more luxury, a larger garden, a leafier street. Nose around an identical property on your own street, and you can pick up tips on how you might redecorate or renovate.

We are an aspirational nation. Rather than the rich man at his castle, the poor man at his gate, we look at the rich man’s gate and think: “Well, it’s worth a look.”

In fact, looking at houses is no longer a matter of location, location, location. It’s all about aspiration, imagination, temptation.