Rightmove recorded its busiest ever Boxing Day for platform visits as home-hunters began preparing for potential 2026 moves.
Visits to the UK's largest property platform on Boxing Day 2025 surpassed the previous record set in 2024. Traffic nearly doubled, jumping 93% between Christmas Day (the quietest day of the year) and Boxing Day, as potential movers swapped board games and Christmas specials for home-hunting. The surge exceeded last year's 87% increase.
Boxing Day traditionally signals the start of the busier home-moving season after December's typical festive lull. Activity ramped up significantly in the days following Christmas.
Enquiries from people wanting to view homes for sale increased 67% in the five days after Christmas compared to the five days before. New property listings on Rightmove more than doubled, rising 143% over the same period, as sellers worked with agents to launch their homes when more potential buyers were browsing.
Activity was busiest in the South East, East of England and London. The most popular properties listed were smaller homes with zero to two bedrooms, which first-time buyers typically target.
"It's early days, but Boxing Day's data suggests agents could have a busy start to 2026 after a quieter festive period during December, which was also impacted by the lateness of the Budget and the uncertainty around potential policies in the lead up to it," said Steve Pimblett, chief data officer at Rightmove. "Record-breaking visit numbers indicate many are looking to put some of the uncertainty of last year behind them and get going with a 2026 move."
