According to Rightmove, the number of property listings on Boxing Day jumped 26 per cent on last year’s previous record.
The number of buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale nearly quadrupled from Christmas Day and was 17 per cent up on Boxing Day last year.
Rightmove added that visits to the platform nearly doubled between Christmas and Boxing Day and was eight per cent higher than the same period last year.
The company said that Boxing Day usually initiates the start of an uptick of homemover activity following the Christmas lull.
Boxing day property listings bounce ‘an early positive sign’
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.”
Reports from Nationwide suggest that falling mortgage rates would be encouraging for potential buyers in 2024, along with the possibility of base rate cuts.
Mortgage rates have started falling this week, with several lenders cutting rates, but average rates for two and five-year fixed rates remain above five per cent.
Rightmove, in a report earlier this week, said that the signs were positive that lenders would reduce rates further, which would benefit those moving this year.
Economists have suggest that there could be two base rate cuts this year, but this is subject to a variety of factors.
