Boxing Day Bounce 2025

The Property Market's Boxing Day Bounce Could Be Bigger This Year

If you've been sitting on the fence about moving house, you're not alone – and Boxing Day might be the moment everything kicks off again.

Rightmove reckons we're in for a stronger-than-usual "Boxing Day Bounce" this year, as people who've been holding back finally get moving after all the Budget uncertainty we've had recently.

Every year, Boxing Day tends to spark a flurry of activity in the housing market. It's when buyers and sellers dust off those plans they'd put aside during the festive chaos. But this year looks set to be even busier. Rightmove surveyed over 10,000 people thinking about moving, and nearly one in five said they'd deliberately pressed pause while waiting to see what the Budget would bring. Now that's out of the way, they're ready to get back in the game.

We're already seeing signs of life. In London – especially at the pricier end where all the speculation hit hardest – the number of new sellers jumped by 24% in the week after the Budget compared to the week before. It suggests confidence is creeping back, even if things have naturally quietened down a bit over Christmas.

What's interesting is that plenty of sellers are deliberately timing things, waiting until Boxing Day or just after to list their homes. They want to catch that wave of buyer interest when everyone's had their turkey, put away the decorations, and started thinking seriously about their next move again.

Looking ahead to 2026 Rightmove's feeling pretty positive. They reckon next year should feel more like the buoyant first half of this year, rather than the sluggish second half when Budget rumours were swirling around. With affordability improving, loads of homes to choose from, and a clearer sense of where the economy's heading, there should be plenty happening.

Price-wise, they're predicting a modest rise of around 2% in what sellers are asking for their homes in 2025. But more than that, they're expecting activity levels to really pick up as we head into the new year.

So if you're thinking about buying or selling, the next few weeks could be worth paying attention to. With confidence returning and the market waking up again, this Boxing Day Bounce might just set the tone for a promising year ahead.