The World Cup is going to impact on both the housing market and the day-to-day lives of flatmates, according to the results of two separate surveys released yesterday.
Housing activity will surge by 8% after the World Cup, say the estate agents, Your Move, and housemates will start falling out as over half of them vie for opposing teams, according to the website, Easyroommate.co.uk.
Your Move has analysed property transactions completed during and after previous World Cups, and according to a study of HMRC figures, transactions have risen by an average of 8% following the final – compared with those in the first month of the tournament.
Last time, in the 2006 World Cup, immediately after the contest property transactions rose by 10% from 160,000 per month in June to 176,000 in August, say the UK based estate agent.
And perhaps it’s the flatmates pushing up the sales as renting and sharing becomes less appealing, because if Easyroomate is to be believed then World Cup fever will become World Cup rivalry with 55% of flatmates supporting different countries to their co-habits and 45% admitting that they would enjoy seeing their flatmate’s team lose.
Jonathan Moore, the director of
, said: “In football, rivalries run deep – and the World Cup is already causing friction between housesharers. People from all over the world share homes together and the World Cup will bring out many national rivalries.”
So are the two linked? Well Your Move say the predicted surge in house sales is definitely not a seasonal phenomenon, and that for six of the last seven 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, said: “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.”
And as for the feuding flatmates, the survey found that respondents most want to see France exit the competition, followed by Brazil, Germany and Italy.
France’s unpopularity was driven in large by English fans – with 21% of all English respondents hoping for their early exit. Only 9% of respondents wish to see England eliminated, with anti-English sentiments mainly coming from Americans (19%), Scots (18%) and the French (9%).
Phew... and you thought it was only a game?
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