Half of homebuyers still hitting the streets
Nearly half of UK homebuyers still rely on physically exploring neighbourhoods to find their dream home, according to new research from The Property DriveBuy.
The survey of 1,133 recent buyers, commissioned by The Property DriveBuy, found that while online platforms dominate the house-hunting process, they are far from the only method used.
An overwhelming 97% of respondents said they used online property portals to aid their search, with Rightmove (42%) and Zoopla (19%) being the most relied upon. More than half (52%) admitted to checking these platforms multiple times a day during their search.
However, despite their popularity, portals come with limitations, most notably the outdated search filters that restrict users to criteria such as price, size, and fixed geographic areas. This means many potential dream homes simply never appear on screen.
As a result, 75% of homebuyers said they took a more proactive approach, physically visiting the areas in which they hoped to buy in order to discover properties. For more than a third (34%), this process uncovered suitable homes that hadn’t appeared in their online searches.
Exploring in person also helped broaden horizons, with 67% of buyers discovering neighbouring areas they had not previously considered. Of these, 38% went on to find promising properties in these newly discovered locations, which had been excluded online simply due to search boundaries.
In fact, 23% of buyers ultimately made an offer on a property that had not appeared in their portal search results at all, showing the tangible limitations of a purely digital search.
Looking ahead, 65% of respondents said that when they next look for a new home, receiving real-time alerts as they walk or drive past available properties would significantly improve their buying experience and help overcome the restrictions of portal-based house hunting.
Steve Foreman, Founder and CEO of The Property DriveBuy, commented:
“These results confirm that today’s portals are too restrictive and fail to reflect how people really want to search for a home. At The Property DriveBuy, we’re rethinking the process by making it more intuitive and less restrictive.
Our technology sends real-time notifications as you explore neighbourhoods, helping buyers and renters discover great properties they might otherwise miss.
It’s a smarter, more human way to search, one that is led by criosity, not just filters. As well as being a more reactive search tool, it brings a little bit of that much-missed magic back to the home buying and renting process – where you turn a corner and unexpectedly find your dream home waiting.
What’s not to love about a touch of serendipity?”
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Breaking Property News 24/09/25