Your Move have analysed the number of property transactions completed during and after World Cups.
According to analysis of HMRC figures, transactions have risen by an average of 8% following the competition compared to its first month. For instance, in the last World Cup, 2006, in the month following the tournament, property transactions rose by 10% from 160,000 per month in June to 176,000 in August.
Despite England’s failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, the trend was still evident - albeit slightly subdued - with transactions rising by 5% following the World Cup.
This is not a seasonal phenomenon. For 6 of the last 7 World Cups, the month following the tournament has seen increased activity compared to the same month the year before, rising by an average of 7%.
David Newnes, Estate Agency Managing Director of LSL, owner of national chains Your Move and Reeds Rains, comments:
“When football fever grips the nation, many buyers are glued to their screens. But historically, a flurry of buyers hit the streets in the month after the tournament. That doesn’t mean the housing market recovery is set to stall in the short-term during the competition. Consumer confidence has risen this year, and more buyers have been entering the market.
"We don’t expect the World Cup to interrupt the recovery of housing sector but we can expect an upsurge once it’s over.”
Housing market activity has never dropped following the competition, but in two of the previous seven World Cup years (1990 and 1998), transactional activity remained steady in its wake.
Newnes continues:
“In 1990, the tournament coincided with the cusp of an economic and housing downturn that was to last for two years. In relative terms, the World Cup bumped up activity and helped prevent an enormous short-term decline.
"But we are now on the other side of a housing downturn, and expect the steady recovery to remain on track, with house purchase activity to climb after the World Cup. The housing market remained steady in 1998 after the World Cup. Perhaps the nation was still in shock after Beckham’s red-card and England crashing out to Argentina!”
