Buyer demand bounces back after May heatwave

• New real-time analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals that buyer demand has bounced back after a temporary dip due to the May heatwave during the school holidays  

• Starting on May 22nd, buyer demand dropped by 8% over the course of the heatwave week, as potential buyers held off from booking viewings to either soak in or take shelter from the heat 

• Buyer demand started to rise again from 1st June as temperatures eased, with demand surpassing pre-heatwave levels on the 6th June 

• Rightmove’s real-time data, with millions of data points, captures the impact of cultural and external events on the property market 

• The number of buyer enquiries is still lower than last year, but remains stable in line with the trends we’ve seen so far in 2026 

 

New real-time analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals that buyer demand has bounced back after a temporary dip in May due to the unprecedented heatwave that coincided with half term.   

 

Beginning the analysis on May 22nd at the start of the heatwave, buyer demand dropped by an unseasonal 8% over the course of the next week, as potential buyers temporarily held off from booking viewings to either soak in or take shelter from the heat.  

 

Buyer demand started to rise again from 1st June as temperatures eased and potential buyers began booking in more viewings.  

 

On 6th June, buyer demand surpassed pre-heatwave levels with normal, seasonal trends resuming. 

 

The number of potential buyers sending enquiries to agents about homes for sale is still lower than at this time last year, but remains stable in line with the trends we’ve seen so far in 2026. 

 

Rightmove’s real-time data, with millions of data points driven by the UK’s largest and most engaged home-moving audience, regularly captures the impact of cultural and external events on the property market. 

 

Earlier this year, Rightmove reported a spike in searches on its platform for Corfu as the series Amanda & Alan’s Greek Job, starring Amanda Holden & Alan Carr, brought home-searchers to the Greek island.  

 

Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert says: “It’s not unusual for short-term external events like a heatwave or school holidays to have a temporary impact on home-moving activity, and this time we had both at the same time, so it isn’t surprising that some buyers paused their searches or delayed viewings for a few days. What’s more telling is how quickly demand tends to bounce back, as we’re now seeing, with underlying market activity remaining consistent with what we’ve seen in 2026 so far. 

 

“We regularly see patterns like this in our real-time data, whether it’s seasonal shifts, major events like the World Cup coming up, or even cultural moments influencing behaviour, which is a reminder as to the scale of the Rightmove platform.” 

 

ENDS 

 

Notes to Editors:
 

About Rightmove 

• Rightmove has the UK’s largest selection of properties for sale and to rent, adds more listings than anyone else 

• Latest view from Comscore is over 80% of all time spent on property portals is on Rightmove, and latest view from SimilarWeb is over 70% of time spent on property portals in the UK is on Rightmove (two datasets used across the industry to track time spent on portals) 

• Rightmove’s vision is to give everyone the belief that they can make their move by giving people the best place to turn and return to for access to tools and expertise to make it happen 

• Users can search Rightmove for residential resale, new homes, rentals, built for rent, commercial property and overseas properties. Rightmove also provide an extensive range of tools and information assisting their home moving journey, including but not limited to: local sold prices, online property valuation, agent visit requests, moving guides, mortgage in principle certification, renovation calculator, extension explorer, home services for renters like utilities, media and insurance, school information, moving guides and sustainability information 

• Partners (Rightmove’s customers) include the following key groups: estate agents, letting agents, new homes developers, rental operators, commercial property operators, overseas property agents, financial services operators and home services providers for insurance, utilities and media 

• Using the UK’s largest housing datasets, we issue a number of regular reports to track housing market indicators: our monthly House Price Index (established 2002), quarterly Rental Trends Tracker (established 2015), weekly Mortgage Rates Tracker (established 2023) and quarterly Commercial Insights Tracker (established 2024). Historical data is available on request 

• Founded in 2000, Rightmove listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 and is a member of the FTSE 100 index