World Cup Cheers U.K.'s Housing Market

Americans might scoff at the frenzy surrounding the World Cup soccer tournament, but for the rest of the world "the beautiful game" is serious business. So serious, in fact, that one British real estate agency expects the U.K. housing market to see a significant jump in activity immediately following the tournament.

Could something similar happen in the U.S.?

According to Your Move, a major U.K. real estate agency, statistics suggest that housing transactions will jump 8 percent in the month following the matches. The company's forecast derives from data collected by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (think of the royal equivalent of the IRS), which show that six of the last seven World Cups were followed by a month of increased housing activity.

On average, tournament years produced 7 percent more housing transactions the following month than in the same period the previous year.

It's unlikely American homebuyers will respond in comparable numbes, since there are far fewer soccer fans in the U.S.