If you want to make your way onto the housing market, it makes sense to do so when buyers are looking for a home. You might be surprised to learn the end of the year, and the start of the New Year is a busy time in the housing market.

Rightmove states the number of people looking at homes on Boxing Day 2020 was more than 50% higher than the Boxing Day 2019 figure. Rightmove recorded 51 million visits between Boxing Day 2020 and the first working day of 2021.

The Boxing Day Bounce Is Real

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Data comments: “Despite the soaring property market and consequent shortage of choice of homes for sale for prospective buyers, new sellers have given buyers an early Christmas present by dropping their average asking prices by 0.6%. Sellers who come to market this close to the distractions of Christmas often have a pressing reason to sell, so naturally price more attractively to grab the attention of prospective buyers who may be otherwise occupied. We expect this downward price trend to be relatively short-lived, though sellers who are in a hurry will continue to need to attract buyers for most of December as well.”

Tim Bannister also said; “As soon as Christmas Day is out of the way, there’s a boom in people searching for property on Boxing Day, perhaps with time available during the holiday season and resolve to enjoy their next Christmas in new surroundings. That is likely to push prices higher again, and increase the competition from other buyers. Some of those additional buyers will also be new sellers who have held back from launching their property to market until this Boxing Day buyer boom, judging it to be a good time to sell and to move in 2022.”

How is the Weymouth housing market faring?

According to Rightmove, as of December 2021, house prices in Weymouth are as follows;

“Properties in Weymouth had an overall average price of £276,325 over the last year.

The majority of sales in Weymouth during the last year were detached properties, selling for an average price of £398,510. Terraced properties sold for an average of £234,687, with flats fetching £185,391.

Overall, sold prices in Weymouth over the last year were 4% up on the previous year and 9% up on the 2018 peak of £254,583.”

Tim Bannister from Rightmove also said; “Sellers often wait until January to get their home on the market, but this year agents say that more people are trying to get a head-start on making 2022 their year to move by doing a lot of the prep before the New Year, including having their home ready to market during the Christmas period. Some savvy sellers are planning to get their photos taken before they put up their decorations, so that their property advert doesn’t look dated in January. Sellers can also agree with their agent a date when viewings can start in January if they’re worried about having time to tidy up after Christmas, which would give the agent time to generate interest in their home. Plus, if they’re able to secure a buyer for their home early in the New Year and they are looking to buy again, it puts them in a powerful position to secure their next property.”

Bannister concluded by saying; “In the current market, it’s a real advantage to be a “power buyer”, and have already sold your current home subject to contract when looking for somewhere to buy, putting you ahead when trying to buy another property, where there are other offers already on the table.”

We know many people have questions and queries right now, and we are here to help as best we can. Please get in touch with Austin Property Services if there is anything, we can assist you with. You can call us on 01305 858470 or you can email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..