Social media fuels house envy among UK first-time buyers

Mojo Mortgages has published survey data on how social media affects first-time home buyers in the UK, pointing to widespread online comparison during the buying process.

The survey of 1,000 active and recent first-time buyers found that more than 45% always or often feel pressure or influence from social media while navigating the housing market. Three quarters said they experience what Mojo Mortgages described as "house envy" from content on social platforms.

That influence appears to feed directly into home search behaviour. Just over half of respondents said they browse dream properties as a form of digital window shopping at least once a week, rising to 58% among people aged 25 to 34.

Posts about property purchases also seem to trigger immediate action. The data found that 46% of first-time buyers go straight onto property apps after seeing someone else announce they have bought a home, while 50% use social content as a prompt to investigate the price or value of a property they have seen online.

Women were more likely than men to say they always look up the value of a home spotted on social media, at 19% compared with 14%. The survey also found that 47% regularly recalculate their monthly mortgage affordability in response to the latest news cycle.

Online pressure

The figures add to evidence that social platforms are shaping consumer behaviour well beyond retail and travel, influencing one of the largest financial decisions many households make. For first-time buyers facing high house prices and borrowing costs, the contrast between aspirational content and personal budgets appears to be creating both pressure and research-driven behaviour.

Another 78% of respondents said they compare their actual budget with the homes presented online. This suggests the gap between what buyers can afford and what they consume on social media is becoming a routine part of the search process.

Kayleigh Jackson, Mortgage Sales Manager at Mojo Mortgages, said: "Social media is a fantastic tool for inspiration, design ideas, and celebrating major life milestones. However, it creates a highly curated gallery that rarely reflects the compromise, grit, and financial realities it takes to get onto the property ladder. It's completely natural to experience 'house envy' when looking at flawless home tours, but it's important to remember that every buyer's starting line is different, and many have unseen financial help behind the scenes.

"Instead of letting comparison dishearten you, use that digital energy as fuel. A mortgage advisor can take those aspirations and ground them in reality, looking at your specific financial situation to show you exactly what is achievable, safe, and genuinely affordable for you. You can absolutely achieve your property goals, independent of what an influencer is doing."

Research habits

The findings suggest social media is not simply fuelling passive envy. It is also acting as a trigger for more intensive market monitoring among buyers who may already be sensitive to interest rates, affordability thresholds, and local asking prices.

In practice, that means a social post can become the starting point for a chain of actions: checking a portal listing, looking up estimated values, comparing mortgage costs, and reassessing what is realistic. Rather than limiting their response to aspirational viewing, many buyers appear to be using social content as a prompt for real-time financial and housing research.

This behaviour reflects the wider digitisation of the property market, where listings, valuations, mortgage calculators, and social content sit side by side on the same devices. Buyers can move quickly from inspiration to investigation, but that speed may also intensify feelings of competition and shortfall.

Jackson also addressed the emotional side of the process: "There is no need to compare your journey to others or feel discouraged; buying your first home should be an exciting milestone. Social media rarely shows the years of sacrifice it took to get there, or the financial assistance received behind the scenes."

Budget reality

The advice accompanying the survey urged buyers to focus on personal affordability rather than curated images, including setting search filters to avoid looking at homes beyond their means. It also highlighted the need to distinguish between essential requirements and desirable features, particularly for those entering the market for the first time.

Another point was the need to budget for costs beyond the deposit, such as survey fees, legal bills, broker charges, moving costs, and building insurance. Those expenses can be less visible in social posts about home purchases, even though they form part of the financial barrier to entry.

The data paints a picture of first-time buyers who are highly engaged online but also exposed to a steady stream of comparison. Half of respondents use social media as a springboard to check a home's price or value.