The latest smartphone app uses GPS to show you nearby houses for sale, and give an insider’s view on the housing market
We make no secret of the fact we are a nation of nosy parkers. We love few things more than a sneaky glimpse into the lives and homes of others. Witness our fondness for property shows like Location, Location, Location and Grand Designs. Witness also our obsession with “stalking” friends and strangers
on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, scrolling through endless pictures of holidays we haven’t been on and parties we weren’t invited to. We are not, of course, Peeping Toms. Heavens, no! Such pleasurable prying has been legitimised, rather, by mainstream websites used by millions every day.
And now, into this arena, steps Knocker, a new smartphone app that allows users to peek into strangers’ homes as they walk down the street. Sound terrifying? It’s not quite that alarming: not every house is now transparent, just those that are already on the market. It’s the kind of sneak peek afforded to anyone trawling through an estate agent’s website, only now it’s available as you stroll around town - whether or not you have the slightest intention of making an offer. Wherever you find yourself, Knocker will tell you which properties are for sale and offer up a tantalising array of interior pictures and local info for your delectation. It’s the Tinder approach to house-buying, if you will. Like the dating app, which allows lonely hearts to swipe through potential love interests who are geographically close by, Knocker helps you find your perfect property match.
Although not a buyer myself right now, this does not mean I’ve no interest in the insides of homes I will never enter. Quite the contrary. Armed with my iPhone, I take an experimental wander down a tree-lined street in London’s South Kensington, gazing lustfully at the Grade II listed, stucco-fronted houses, ownership of which is beyond my wildest dreams. On such occasions previously I’d have stolen a sideways glance through a window, wondered vaguely about the inhabitants and got on with my day. No longer!
Within seconds, Knocker has helpfully filled me in on a range of details I’d have formerly had to guess at: a two-bedroom flat on the street is on sale for a pinch, at £4.5m. One six-bedroom house on the street is available to rent for £25,783 per month, but you’ll get more than just impressive architecture for the price: the wood-floored kitchen includes a marble island, crystal chandelier and pristine egg-shell cabinets. The all-white bathroom boasts a free-standing bathtub and floor lighting; there’s a modern silver table in the expansive sitting room and the balcony, I can see, leads to a master bedroom with an en suite bathroom and dressing room.
So how does the app work? Synced with the housing website Zoopla, it uses your phone’s GPS to track your location and lead you to the door of properties on the market. If you like what you see, you can call the estate agent to arrange a viewing with a single tap on your device. And once you’ve browsed the interior photos, it also shows you floor plans, nearby schools, average house prices for the area and statistics on the neighbours. In short, Knocker is the ultimate in “property porn".
I’m reliably informed by the app that the South Kensington locals enjoy exercise and travel but don’t do much DIY. They favour broadsheets over tabloids and the average local resident is a company director, professional or self-employed businessman or woman.
I follow the app as it leads me to some forbidding gates in the heart of Kensington, behind which sits a spacious £3.7m flat - with a rather ugly Seventies’ kitchen. A short walk away is a £10m three-bedroom penthouse flat complete with roof terrace gym and Jacuzzi. It sounds irrestibile but the inside proves disappointingly tacky, with glittering chandeliers, crushed velvet carpets, huge silver urns and mirrored walls.
It’s hard to pity the owners of these opulent homes, but using my phone to peek past their impressive facades, it starts to feel a bit creepy. It shouldn’t, I’m assured. “Knocker is a novel idea and a very interesting one,” says Jake Russell, director at London estate agent Russell Simpson. “We’ve all strolled through a particularly beautiful area and imagined living there. This app gives prospective purchasers the immediate opportunity to consider the possibility of purchasing their dream home.” Like many spheres, the property sales market is an increasingly digital world, he says. So Knocker was the obvious next step.
It’s also a gift to the inquisitive, the compulsive browser and the downright nosy. Those who’ve gazed longingly at the brick walls and iron gates that guard Britain’s most magnificent homes can now progress to the next stage of property porn and glimpse the sleek marble and wooden floors within. And the crushed velvet carpets too, of course – that’s the ultimate money shot.
To find out more information on factors affecting valuation, click here
Source (By Olivia Goldhill, 26th May 2015)
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