House viewings are higher in the Christmas and New Year period, says one estate agent.

Andrew Cardwells from Cardwells Estate Agents in Bolton and Bury noticed that every year from the period between Christmas and New Year, the agents see the most house viewing traffic online.

He said: “For a number of years the pattern of Boxing Day almost becoming the start of the new year’s property market has been forming and coming into clearer focus, with Cardwells.co.uk, Rightmove, Zoopla and other property websites reporting large spikes in traffic, particularly on Boxing Day.

“Perhaps this is for a number of reasons but people having some time away from work, and being able to begin to focus on plans for the New Year, perhaps using new Christmas devices is certainly one reason mentioned to us by our clients.

The Bolton News:

“The 27th to 29th December has been notably busy at our Bolton office in comparison to previous years, with more than 120 viewings arranged, five sales agreed and five rental property applications being under consideration. This is at a time when many people expect the property market to be stalled and not active, in fact some estate / letting agencies choose to close during this period. “

Recently it was revealed Bolton house prices dropped more than the North West average in October.

House prices dropped by 0.6 per cent – more than the average for the North West – in Bolton in October, new figures show.

Andrew said: “I’m confident this post Christmas buoyancy will continue into 2024 and the signals are certainly looking strong for continued Bolton and Bury property market improvement in 2024.

“Now inflation is reducing, it is expected that there will be interest rate reductions in the new year, which will undoubtedly reenergise the property market not just in Bolton but throughout the UK.”

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices in Bolton in October – they dropped one per cent in price, to £111,611 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 1.8 per cent.

The housing market in Bolton is still in high demand with houses selling quick.