Every year on Boxing Day, property searches surge by 50%, Google trends data reveals.
The ‘Boxing Day bounce’, as it’s become known, builds momentum throughout the week after Christmas as people start looking for a new home at the beginning of a new year.
It’s so real that Zoopla is starting a major new advertising campaign to support it on Christmas Day.
But why the surge? Is it because everyone’s getting divorced after the festivities? Are grown-up kids desperate to flee the nest, unable to bear sharing a home with their parents another year?
Or is everyone simply on the lookout for a fresh start with a lovely new place to live?
Actually, it’s all and none of these things. The Boxing Day bounce is simply a rebound in activity after everyone being with family and friends - and consequently offline - on Christmas Day.
But the big thing about it is this: it heralds the beginning of a burst of activity that continues to gain momentum throughout January.
Our Executive Director, Research, Richard Donnell, says: ‘Christmas Day tends to be the one day of the year when people are least likely to be browsing homes for sale as they spend time at home.
‘But at Zoopla, the week after Christmas has over 30% more online activity than the 3 weeks in the run up to it, with Christmas Day being the lowest activity day of the whole year.
‘The return of activity builds further into January as the home buying process starts to gain momentum.’
So who’s looking at houses on Boxing Day?
One in four Boxing Day browsers are aged between 25-34 years: a key age range for first time buyers (FTBs).
‘Even though mortgage rates have been rising, faster rental growth over the last three years has been pushing FTBs to buy homes over 2023,’ says Donnell.
‘In fact, FTBs are set to be the largest buyer group in 2023, accounting for one in three sales.’.
And that trend is set to grow next year. In fact, a Zoopla consumer survey found that 40% of people who want to move home in the next two years are first time buyers.
Second home movers are the next biggest group of seasonal home hunters - and both groups will be looking for value for money in the face of higher mortgage rates.
Our latest House Price Index reveals that buyers in the south are actually expanding their searches from an average of 4.3 miles to 10+ miles in search of more bang for their buck.
‘2024 is all about value for money and getting as much house for the best price as possible,’ says Donnell. ‘For many that means looking further afield and spending more time planning that next move.’
So what types of homes will people be looking at on Boxing Day?
Boxing Day stands out from the rest of the year as we see a 7% surge in the number of first-time buyers looking for one-bed flats.
Then there are also the dreamers: those looking at large four-bed family homes shoots up by 10% on the day after Christmas.
‘It’s a mix of practical, ‘what could I buy as my first home’ browsers and those browsing for the more dreamy aspirational move to a much larger home,’ says Donnell.
Searches for the traditional 3 bed house, which makes up almost half of all homes, are 5% below average on Boxing Day as people focus on the top and bottom ends of the housing market.
When are people looking at homes for sale on Boxing Day?
It’s late in the day. While home searches peak between 4pm and 7pm throughout the rest of the year, Boxing Day browsing is much more of an evening experience, with peak engagement between 8pm and 10pm.
‘After another day with friends and family and too much eating and drinking, it’s time to see what home you could buy or dream of buying,’ says Donnell.
And it seems there are a lot of people out there who would rather do just that than watch yet another Christmas movie.
Ready to find your dream home?
Search more than half a million properties for sale, from brand new homes to period homes.
