Whilst estate agents are used to seeing rather unusual trends in the housing market, particularly during changing or strange times, one of the most bizarre trends happens every single year.
Right after the biggest seasonal lull of the year and the day after people think about the housing market the least, there is a massive surge in enquiries, interest and demand that lasts for just a single day.
It is often a prelude to the more substantial January surge seen every year, where people aim to put their New Year’s resolutions into action and enter the market properly.
The January effect is not just limited to property and is more easily explained, but why is there such a surge on Boxing Day, a day when it is effectively impossible to buy a house due to the closure of conveyancing, local authorities, many estate agents and mortgage providers?
Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime
Christmas Day is the one day of the year when the housing market is thought about the least. There is often far too much to do that day, with families opening presents, having dinner together and often travelling to see relatives.
Whilst every family celebrates the festive season in a different way, Christmas Day for many people is a time when there is too much going on with too many people for either buyers or sellers to have a chance at focusing on their next property move.
However, Boxing Day is similarly a bank holiday but without the same internal or external pressures surrounding it which means that it has developed as a general shopping holiday.
Many people have more relaxed social gatherings or simply spend time with their families, which means that they have time to look at their computers or phones and explore housing listings in the area they are interested in.
Because many people have more free time than they ordinarily would do, they have an opportunity to spend some time during what is traditionally a fairly peaceful and relaxing day looking towards the future.
Whilst no bank holiday is truly a day off for everyone; some stores open on Boxing Day to take advantage of shopper interest and essential services will naturally mean that some people work during the Christmas period, it is the day when the most people have the most free time they will have in a year.
By the 27th or 28th, quite a few people have returned to work, meaning that they do not have the same amount of time or freedom to explore the market however they choose, meaning that many people who want to scan the surroundings before January will do so on Boxing Day.
There is an increasing trend of sellers and buyers who start early, getting all of the preparation for a sale ready during the winter lull, typically taking photographs of a house for sale before the Christmas decorations have been put up.
Buyers, similarly, would benefit by getting their agreement in principle with mortgage providers ready before Christmas, as the January boom can often lead to a fair amount of chaos in the market.
