Boxing Day Bounce: New properties to market triple since pre-pandemic

New research from the UK’s biggest property website Rightmove reveals that the number of new properties coming to market on Boxing Day has nearly tripled since before the pandemic started.

The number of properties brought to the market for sale on Boxing Day by estate agents last year was 173% higher than 2019, and 46% higher than 2021.

Last year saw a record number of new properties listed for sale on Boxing Day, as sellers increasingly work with agents to capture the wave of new buyer interest that typically arrives on Boxing Day and progresses into the new year, following the lull in activity during the festive build up and Christmas Day itself.

Buyer demand, measured by the number of buyers sending enquiries to estate agents about homes for sale, more than tripled (+250%) from Christmas Day to Boxing Day last year, with buyers no longer distracted by the festivities.

Many future sellers also use the holiday period and start of the new year to consider a move. Last year, the number of people contacting estate agents to value their home between Boxing Day and 1st January was the highest number recorded in a week since early September 2022, and 29% higher than the same period in 2021.

Two of the 20 busiest days on record for future sellers contacting an estate agent to value their home were in January 2023, as would-be sellers envision their next Christmas in a new home.

Rightmove’s property expert Tim Bannister said:
“We typically see a post-Christmas upturn in buyer activity, with early-bird buyers finishing off their turkey dinners and starting their search for a new home for the new year. It’s a key reason why we’re seeing more new sellers come to market on Boxing Day, ready for their properties to be the first seen by prospective new buyers. However, with activity typically increasing from Boxing Day into January, sellers planning to come to market later in January still have time to capitalise on the renewed buyer activity.

“This year’s upturn will be eagerly anticipated by those who are keen to sell, who may have been holding off due to the disorderly mortgage market earlier this year. Many will also be watching the scale of the upturn as an early sign of building momentum as we progress through the winter and into the important spring selling season and year ahead.”