After the chaos of Christmas Day, many see Boxing Day as a time to relax, catch up on TV specials and get to work on the leftovers.
But each year, a surprising number of Britons decide instead to start the cogs whirring on one of life’s big decisions: moving house.
And in 2026, the number of people visiting the Rightmove website hit a new record as buyers shook off the uncertainty of late 2025 and set about searching for their dream home.
Figures from the property portal show a 1 per cent rise in Boxing Day browsers compared to 2024.
While Christmas Day was the quietest day for Rightmove website traffic, there was a 93 per cent jump on 26 December.
This was a bigger bounce in visits to Rightmove than last year, when the increase was 87 per cent.
Picking up? There was a rise in homes being listed on Rightmove on Boxing Day, which could suggest the property market will be more active in 2026
The property market had been distinctly downbeat in the closing months of 2025, partly thanks to speculation around a ‘mansion tax’ council tax surcharge and other tax rises in the Budget, which happened on 26 November.
However, the mansion tax in its final form only applied to homes valued at £2million or above, and other rumoured policies such as charging capital gains tax on the sale of people’s primary homes were not announced.
Steve Pimblett, Rightmove’s chief data officer, said: ‘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.
‘Record breaking visit numbers indicates many are looking to put some of the uncertainty of last year behind them and get going with a 2026 move.’
Sellers also jumped on the Boxing Day bandwagon, with Boxing Day now recognised by estate agents as a savvy time to launch properties to the market.
The number of new properties being listed for sale on Rightmove more than doubled (+143 per cent) in the five days after Christmas, compared to the five days before.
The website listings that received the most website and app traffic were in the South East, East of England and London.
The most popular type of home to be listed for sale on Boxing Day were smaller properties with two bedrooms or less, which first-time buyers typically aim for.
What will happen to house prices in 2026?
In 2025, house price rises were subdued. The price of the typical home went up by 1.7 per cent in the year to October, according to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics.
This amounts to a rise of about £5,000, taking the price of the average property to £269,892.
According to Halifax, house prices went up by 0.7 per cent or £2,000 on average in the year to the end of November, the weakest annual growth since March 2024.
Increasing momentum on websites such as Rightmove could be a sign that activity in the market will pick up going in to the new year.
Nathan Emerson, chief executive of estate agent membership body Propertymark, said: ‘The sharp rise in enquiries and new listings highlights a strong appetite to move in 2026, particularly among first-time buyers targeting smaller homes.
‘Encouragingly, easing inflation and a lower base rate compared to this time last year should help improve affordability and confidence, giving the market a stronger platform as the year gets underway.’
However, this does not necessarily translate to higher prices as economic uncertainty, a weak jobs market and higher mortgage rates than in recent history could all conspire to keep prices suppressed.
Halifax is predicting a 1 per cent to 3 per cent rise in house prices this year, while Rightmove is predicting 2 per cent.
Emerson added: ‘Affordability pressures, supply constraints, and policy certainty will remain critical factors in determining whether this early surge in interest can be sustained through the spring.’
