Solid foundation for a relationship? People check value of online date’s home

By Vicky Shaw, PA Personal Finance Correspondent
Nearly one in 10 (8%) people say they have checked the value of a home belonging to a partner, ex-partner or someone they were dating online.

Close to a third (32%) within this group continued to date someone they would otherwise not have done after viewing their home online – with those aged 35 to 44 (46%) particularly likely to say this.

On the other hand, a quarter (24%) said they had stopped seeing someone after discovering how much their home was worth.

Overall, six in 10 (59%) people said they had researched the value of properties belonging to people they know, including friends, family, work colleagues or bosses, Zoopla found.

People are most likely to look up the property of someone who is their neighbour, friend or family member.
More than one in 10 (11%) admitted feeling jealous after looking up the value of someone’s home.

Zoopla consumer spokesman Tom Parker said: “How much a house sold for is publicly available information and is easy to source online.

“Whether it’s your boss, a friend or even a potential partner, it’s clear we want to know more about the homes they live in and will often treat them differently as a result.”

– More than 2,000 people were surveyed across the UK in July.