PEOPLE in Wales are the most likely to snoop on their friends and neighbours homes.

New research has revealed that almost half of people living in Wales (45 per cent) admit to finding out what friends, family, colleagues and even potential lovers paid for their home.

Though 65 per cent said they'd never considered researching their own home's value.

That is according to the latest study from Zoopla.

While just 14 per cent of those in Wales believe it is ok to simply ask someone what they paid for their home, property websites now mean this information is just a few clicks away.

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Zoopla’s My Home Experience even enables users to find out a home’s estimated value and what was paid for it, revealing if the owner has made a packet on their property.

Love thy neighbour

Curious people living in Wales are most likely to look up the sale price or value of the home of a neighbour (37 per cent), a family member (31 per cent) or a friend (29 per cent).

But just under one in ten (nine per cent) have looked up how much a colleague paid for their home, and seven per cent have even checked out the price of their boss’s pad.

Looking at the UK as a whole, nearly three in ten (28 per cent) say they made presumptions about a colleague’s salary after seeing how much their home was worth.

People in Wales appear to know the practice is a little sneaky; less than a sixth (15 per cent) say they have ever asked anyone in person what they paid for their home.

Indeed, 39 per cent believe asking someone what their home is worth is ‘rude’, whilst 19 per cent say it is ‘awkward’.

Rise of the free-hold digger?

The research also uncovered surprising findings regarding how many people appear to vet potential partners by checking out their home online first.

Five per cent say they have checked out the value of the home of a partner, ex-partner or someone they were dating.

And this had a surprisingly strong impact on how the relationships developed, with nearly a quarter (24 per cent) saying they have continued to date someone they wouldn’t have otherwise after viewing their home online.

A further 14 per cent say it ‘encouraged’ them to keep seeing someone.

A jealous streak

Romance-aside, the research found that seeing how much someone’s house is worth can have an impact on how they feel about them with seven per cent even saying they respected someone more as a result.

However, value isn’t the only reason those in Wales pry on other people’s homes online.

Nearly a sixth (15 per cent) say it is to get a better idea of what their own home is worth, whilst 15 per cent are simply curious to see what someone’s home looks like on the inside.

Tom Parker, consumer spokesman at Zoopla, said: “Buttoned up people living in Wales love talking about house prices – but for most, asking someone straight-up what they paid for their home is still considered a taboo.

"But 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.

“But such data isn’t just there just to satisfy the nosy habits of some of the Welsh.

"Zoopla’s My Home Experience has been designed to empower homeowners with all the knowledge they could possibly need when it comes to making their home-moving decisions, from finding out if their home’s estimated value has soared, to comparing it to similar homes for sale nearby.”