Rightmove reveals massive visitor figures as market boom goes on

Rightmove has revealed a major rise in visits to its site and app as the housing market boom shows no sign of ending yet.

It recorded over 218 million visits to its site and apps in January, up by three per cent compared to the frenetic January 2021, and up by 44 per cent compared with January 2020

Rightmove has also recorded its busiest January on record for home-mover activity, with buyer demand up 16 per cent compared to January last year, and 24 per cent compared to January 2020.

On the rental side, tenant demand is up 17 per cent compared to last January, and 33 per cent compared to January 2020

The number of prospective sellers contacting estate agents to value their property, contacting via Rightmove, jumped 27 per cent compared to last January, and by more than 50 per cent compared to 2020 and 2019.

Rightmove’s director of property data Tim Bannister says: “We know that January is typically one of the busiest months for agents, with both buyers and sellers aiming to start the new year with plans for a new home, but even for a January, agents are reporting this will go down as one of the busiest ever. 

“Strong buyer demand at the beginning of the year, even higher than that of January last year, shows us that people are still evaluating their needs and where they want to live, as they consider factors such as space, or returning to the office. 

“The jump in new properties coming to the market over the last two weeks is a positive sign that there will be more choice to meet this demand during 2022, and the significant jump in valuation requests in the month compared to previous years, signals that there could be even more choice to come in the near future.”