Rightmove claims that a new record number of sellers came to market on Boxing Day, with a 26 per cent increase in new sellers beating the previous record of last year.

Buyers also got their new year moving plans in motion on Boxing Day, with the number of buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale nearly quadrupling from Christmas Day, and 17 per cent higher than Boxing Day last year.

Visits to the Rightmove platform nearly doubled – they were up 84 per cent – between Christmas Day and Boxing Day and were eight per cent higher than last year.

Boxing Day traditionally signals the start of home-mover activity starting to ramp up following the usual lull over Christmas.

Rightmove’s property expert Tim Bannister says: “The scale of this year’s Boxing Day bounce is an early positive sign at the start of the year that buyers and sellers are out there and taking action, likely including some movers who had put their plans on hold last year. Whilst it is early days, it will be key to monitor activity as it ramps up through the end of winter and into spring, particularly to track whether sellers are pricing attractively enough to agree a sale with a buyer quickly, given buyers now have more choice to consider than last year and are still very price sensitive.”