Home envy exposed: Over 1 in 4 West Midlands residents admit comparing home interiors to a friend's

Commissioned by housebuilder Avant Homes, the survey was conducted among just over 2,000 UK adults who have purchased a home in the last five years.

Whilst over one in four people in the West Midlands admitted to ‘very often’ comparing their home interiors to a friend’s, those in Greater London were the most likely to with almost half of residents (45 per cent) said they very often do compare.

The research also revealed the regions where some people would never compare their homes interiors.

Over one in seven residents (14 per cent) in Yorkshire and Humberside said they’d rather focus on their own interior, followed by Scotland and the South West, where it was just over one in eight (both 12 per cent).

In terms of age, nationwide more than one in three 18-24 year olds (38 per cent), 25-34 year olds and 35-44 year olds (both 37 per cent) said they very often compared their interiors to their friends.

However, almost one in five (19 per cent) people aged 55 and above stated they would never compare their décor style with a friend’s.

To delve deeper into the findings, Avant Homes consulted behavioural scientist, Patrick Fagan, who explained: “Psychologists call this social comparison theory. We don't derive our happiness from how much money we have, but from how much money we have relative to our friends and family and colleagues.

“And is there a better reflection of your identity and your social status than your house? It's where you spend all your time. It's no surprise that younger people, being more concerned with social status, get more home envy, especially fuelled as it is by sites like Instagram.”

From a UK city perspective, more than one in three Manchester locals (38 per cent) admitted to always checking out their friends’ interiors. This was closely followed by London (37 per cent), Bristol (35 per cent) and Newcastle (33 per cent), which were all also around one in three people.

In terms of those who would never compare their home interiors, just over one in seven residents in Glasgow and Leeds (both 14 per cent) were the most house proud admitting to only focusing on their own home.

Avant Homes Group head of marketing, Alicia Hattersley, commented: “Our research proves that for many people their friends’ homes provide them with a great deal of interior design inspiration.

“We are always speaking with customers looking for their ideal home about their interior inspiration and understand what an important role it plays in the homeowning journey for our buyers.

“Our customers often tell us one of the best things about owning one of our homes is being able to put their own style on it and make their interior design goals a reality. For some, that means the more Instagrammable their home is, the better!”

Alongside the survey, Avant Homes has launched an online quiz where people can find out what type of house buyer they are.

The quick quiz asks a series of questions to determine how people approach buying a home and then provides handy hints and tips on house buying according to their buyer personality type.

For more information on Avant Homes visit www.avanthomes.co.uk.