Record number of sellers come to market on Boxing Day and demand jumps by 273%

• A new record number of sellers put their property up for sale on Rightmove on Boxing Day, a 26% increase on the previous record last year
• The number of buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale jumped by 273% between the Christmas Day lull and Boxing Day, and was 17% higher than last Boxing Day
• Visits to the Rightmove platform nearly doubled (+84%) between Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and were 8% higher than last year
• Boxing Day signals the start of home-mover activity beginning to increase at the start of the new year

New data from the UK’s biggest property website Rightmove reveals that a new record number of sellers came to market on Boxing Day, with a 26% increase in new sellers beating the previous record of last year.

Buyers also got their new year moving plans in motion on Boxing Day, with the number of buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale nearly quadrupling (+273%) from Christmas Day, and 17% higher than Boxing Day last year.

Visits to the Rightmove platform nearly doubled (+84%) between Christmas Day and Boxing Day and were 8% higher than last year.

Boxing Day traditionally signals the start of home-mover activity starting to ramp up following the usual lull over Christmas.

Rightmove’s 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.”

ENDS

Notes to editor

For further information please contact Jamie McLean on 07527 995286 or email jamie.mclean@rightmove.co.uk

• The data compares the 26^th December to 1st January with the same period in the previous year

About Rightmove

• Rightmove is the UK’s largest property portal, advertising around 90% of all homes for sale via estate agents across the UK, representing circa 95% of the market
• Rightmove’s purpose is to make home moving easier in the UK by creating a simpler and more efficient property marketplace
• People can search Rightmove for residential resale, new homes, rentals, commercial property and overseas properties and use tools and information including getting a Mortgage in Principle, checking local sold prices, property valuations, market trends, maps and schools
• Customers include the following key groups: estate agents, lettings agents, new homes developers, commercial property operators and overseas property agents
• Founded in 2000, Rightmove listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 and is a member of the FTSE 100 index
• The first Rightmove House Price Index was published in 2002 and is the largest monthly sample of residential property asking prices and housing market activity in the UK