Boxing Day bounce…

Rightmove saw a record number of sellers put their homes up for sale on Boxing Day –

with just over 10,000 new properties added to the market.

It also marked the biggest number of new sellers on Rightmove in any single day of the year dating back to 2011. The number of buyers contacting estate agents about homes was also 17% higher compared to last year.

Most sellers don’t put their homes on the market over Christmas, which is why Boxing Day is normally busy for property websites. It comes as mortgage rates continue to fall, off the back of expectations that the Bank of England could cut interest rates sooner than expected.

A record number of sales properties were launched on Rightmove by agents on Boxing Day – up 26% on the previous record last year.

The day after Christmas traditionally signals the start of home-mover activity starting to ramp up following the usual lull over Christmas.

Many homeowners who are moving onto a new fixed deal are likely to be paying significantly higher rates than they have previously been used to. This is because the Bank of England base rate has been increased 14 times since December 2021 and now sits at 5.25%.

Several housing market forecasts have pointed to house prices generally edging down this year, which could provide some opportunities for buyers. Rightmove has previously predicted that new sellers’ asking prices will be 1% lower across Britain by the end of 2024.

Halifax expects house prices to fall between 2% and 4% in 2024, while Nationwide Building Society expects UK house prices to record a low single digit decline or remain broadly flat this year.

Rightmove property expert Tim Bannister said: “The scale of this year’s Boxing Day bounce is an early positive sign at the start of the year that buyers and sellers are out there and taking action, likely including some movers who had put their plans on hold last year.

“Whilst it is early days, it will be key to monitor activity as it ramps up through the end of winter and into spring, particularly to track whether sellers are pricing attractively enough to agree a sale with a buyer quickly, given buyers now have more choice to consider than last year and are still very price sensitive.”