Crowdhaus, which describes its product as a property discovery app, has secured almost £200,000 to take the next step forward following a pilot with agency Winkworth.

The app operates only for London properties and allows users to find homes to let and for sale on a swipe-based screen.

The platform also allows group activity with, for example, household members encouraged to privately discuss, feedback and rank relevant properties.

Conan Osborne, co-founder of Crowdhaus, says it wants to change how people interact with property when searching for a new home and tap into ‘dream searches’ – he says this hobby of looking at lavish homes is now a genuine pastime with 27m adults scouring websites for dream homes at least once a week, and one in 10 doing it every day.

The trial with Winkworth’s lettings and sales team was in Kensal Rise, London; the app creators say the new funding will allow further pilots, new staff hires, and developing the Crowdhaus product for different platforms.