Selling your home and England playing in the World Cup may seem like two distinctly separate events.
Yet, property portal Rightmove noticed something interesting on their website when England played Panama last Sunday.
Every time a goal was scored in the game, there was a very noticeable drop off in the number of visitors to the Rightmove website.
It’s likely that this kind of behaviour is on the increase due to the rise in mobile device usage. It’s much easier to have one eye on the game and one eye on your phone or tablet device, only breaking off to give the game your full attention during the more exciting moments.
“The nation’s obsession with property and the rise of dual-screening on mobile and tablets can clearly be seen on Rightmove when there is a significant sporting or national event,” Rightmove’s Commercial Director Miles Shipside says.
“We’ve seen similar traffic patterns in the past when Sir Andy Murray won Wimbledon and more recently there was dip as the guests arrived for the Royal Wedding in May.”
The Phenomena Is Likely To Be Repeated
As England have now progressed beyond the group stage, sites such as Rightmove are likely to see repeats of the phenomena during the last 16 tie on Tuesday evening, and potentially beyond if England progress deeper into the tournament.
Although Rightmove are the ones who have published their observation, it’s highly likely other websites in different industries are also noticing similar trends.
With the World Cup final and men’s Wimbledon tennis final likely to occur concurrently, Sunday 15th July could see an even more exaggerated trend.
So, next time you’re watching the game with your mobile device in hand, just remember that millions of other people are probably sat at home doing exactly the same thing!
It’s also not the only time we’ve made a link between the World Cup and the property market. As we reported recently, the average property has increased in value by almost 10,520% since England won the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966!
