Now it's official: Yorkshire has the friendliest neighbours

Three-quarters of home buyers in the region describe their street as friendly and more than half socialise with their neighbours, researchers found.

Some 76% of home buyers say they live in a friendly street, while the remaining one in four (24%) feel they live in an unfriendly neighbourhood, according to the research from Sarah Beeny’s estate agent Tepilo.

Good neighbours become good friends, the research suggests. Some 51% of people surveyed socialise with their neighbours and two-fifths (39%) are friends with five or more of their neighbours.

Over a third (38%) of people see their neighbours a couple of times a week and 18% see them every day. Two-fifths (40%) of those surveyed say children in their street play together regularly, with children in London and Wales most likely to do so.

In London, 72% of people had had an argument with their neighbours - while in Wales, East Anglia and Yorkshire six in 10 had never argued with their neighbours, making these the most likely areas for peaceful neighbourly relations, according to the research.

Beeny said: “Living on a friendly street where everyone socialises together can add value to your property and it’s definitely worth checking out what the neighbours are like when you are looking to buy a house.

“You could start with asking the vendor about the neighbours, but be aware just because they don’t get on with the neighbours doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t either.

“Check out neighbouring houses to see if they look well cared for and pop by at the weekend to get a feel for the atmosphere. If you’re thinking of putting in a serious offer, see if neighbours are in and introduce yourself, ask what the street and neighbourhood are like.”

Some 2,000 home buyers aged between 18 and 65 years old, who have either bought a home in the past year, are in the process of buying or are planning to buy within the next 12 months took part in the research.