#tmcworldcup match of the day: brazil vs croatia

Click here to see larger version - or here for an explanation of the statistics.

The World Cup kicks off today and so does the #TMCWorldCup, pitting the world's top real estate markets head-to-head in a property shootout.

After yesterday's World Cup predictions, which forecast an overall victory for the USA, TheMoveChannel.com follows the FIFA tournament through every stage, highlighting a property Match of the Day.

Brazil and Croatia kick off the tournament. Brazil's property market has boomed in recent years, thanks to the strong demand for real estate in its star property regions: Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte and Rio de Janeiro. In Croatia, interest has been driven by tourist hotspots Split-Dalmatia, Istria and Dubrovnik-Neretva.

Following its recent introduction to the EU, Croatia's property market is clearly open for business, offering 7,595 properties for sale on TheMoveChannel.com, far above the 74 listed in Brazil's emerging market.

Google searches for "property in Croatia" in the month leading up to the tournament have outpaced its Latin American rival too, indicating strong interest from international buyers thanks to the country's most established lifestyle appeal.

Brazil's economic growth, though, is tough to beat: in the first quarter of 2014, Brazilian property prices soared 17.1 per cent year-on-year, sprinting past Croatia's impressive annual growth of 9.7 per cent. Combined with a high level of demand from investors in the run-up to the World Cup, Brazil's 4.46 per cent of enquiries in 2013 takes the country comfortably past the new kid on the Eurozone block - and marks Brazilian real estate out as early favourites to take the trophy.

Who will win the Property World Cup? See our full infographic here - or keep up to date with the latest results on Twitter by following the #TMCWorldCup hashtag.

What do the figures mean?

Enquiries = % of enquiries received on TheMoveChannel.com in 2013
Searches = Number of searches for "property in X" on Google in the month leading up the World Cup
Listings = Number of properties currently listed for sale on TheMoveChannel.com
Price (12m/6m) = House price movement in the last 12 or 6 months, according to the Knight Frank Global House Price Index Q1 2014

Click here for the full statistics.