'The Guardian'

My name is Hilary Osborne and I am a Rightmove addict. While I'm being honest, I should also mention that I have a FindaProperty, Zoopla and Mouseprice.com habit too. And that's before I even mention my regular Globrix fix …

My habit isn't as bad as it was. For most of 2011 – from January when I first decided to move through to July when I finally put my flat on the market, to December when I moved – I was obsessively looking at the property websites.

First, to get an idea of how much I could get for my flat and where I should focus my search for somewhere to buy; then once we'd had an offer, to find places to look at; then once we'd found somewhere to make an offer, to check what else was coming on in case it fell through; and then to reassure myself we had done the right thing.

I am now regularly checking for photos of a property that has come on the market on our street as I'd like ideas on how to decorate our new place. And, as always, I look out of curiosity if I visit somewhere new and think that maybe, some day, I might want to live there. It is hard to put into words the buzz I get when I see the words "Just added" on a FindaProperty search result.

Apparently I am not the only one who has been constantly checking these sites. Rightmove says that in the first 10 days of 2012 it saw 44m searches on its site – a 27% rise on the same period in 2011. Full Blog Continued ....

The rise of property website apps means you can check property listings when you're out and about. Photograph: Guardian.