Curious neighbours, particularly in affluent areas of Ireland, are now going onto property websites to check out neighbours’ interiors and how much their houses are selling for.
“As property moves more and more online, your neighbour is sure to know what asking price you are seeking, and what the inside of your attic conversion now looks like,” explained Ann Marie Boyhan, marketing manager with Daft.ie.
A survey of 1,825 people commissioned by property website Daft.ie found that while the majority of people visited the site with a view to renting or buying a home, 41pc said they were there for research purposes.
“In addition to checking out properties for sale and for rent, users are checking out house prices in their area and browsing interiors.”
The research into Daft.ie user behaviour, carried out by iReach, revealed that 62pc of users are female.
“Although the gender bias shifts to male as users get older,” said Boyhan.
“Females are more likely to visit the site every day, whereas males will more likely visit the site once a week or once a month, with 59pc of males falling into this category.
The survey revealed a high proportion of people with disposable income among the Daft.ie user base, with 77pc of users falling into the ABC1 category.
“The age profile reflects the fact that the audience on Daft has grown up since we launched 10 years ago, with the most popular age bracket being 25-34 followed by 34-45,” concluded Boyhan.
The survey also found people are now leaving the office more and more during their lunch hours as internet access may be blocked at work for people employed by the larger corporations.
This was reflected by a higher percentage of people starting to access the site after 5pm (68pc), further highlighting the need for robust broadband solutions nationwide.
By John Kennedy
