The property market in Germany appears to have reaped the benefits of a successful World Cup, with rental demand soaring in June.

But interestingly, research from Holiday-Rentals reveals that Germany has been the leading destination for holiday home rentals throughout 2006, indicating that the market is enjoying a more fundamental transformation of fortunes.

There has been a growing feeling in the last two years that property investment in Germany is set to take off after several years of relative stagnation. The economy has shown distinct signs of improvement and buy-to-let investors from the UK have been expressing interest in properties around Berlin in particular.

Ross McGowan, sales director of Holiday-Rentals, remarked: "The fact that Germany has been a top choice with renters is perhaps not surprising, given the World Cup.

"However, what is remarkable is the increase in properties – 38 per cent since last year.

"Thanks to the availability of relatively cheap property, decreasing unemployment and growing interest from tourists, canny investors are realising Germany could be the next hot property market in Europe."

It is a sentiment that has been echoed in a number of reports this year, with investors taking advantage of cheap property prices in expectation of significant capital appreciation when the market is eventually reawakened.

According to Holiday-Rentals, the average number of enquiries per property per month in Germany has been 2.05 times the site average, while there has been an 18.2 per cent rise in the number of enquiries when compared with 2005.

But the impact of the World Cup should not be underestimated, as highlighted by a recent article in the New York Times.

Markus Kurscheidt, an expert in sports economics at Ruhr University, told the publication that the sporting extravaganza inspired the country with a renewed sense of confidence.

"The country, and its people, showed themselves to the world in such a different light," he said.

"It surpassed, by far, what we had expected. This will definitely be a long-term benefit for the country."

Journalist Mark Landler refers to the fact that many analysts believe the World Cup helped Germany to become "a more attractive destination for tourists and foreign investment".

While it will be difficult to gauge the full impact for some time, it is a development that may well boost the buy-to-let sector in the country and the property market as a whole.

Despite the national football side being knocked out at the semi-final stage of the World Cup, the tournament had an extremely positive effect on the general mood of the people in Germany.

Beate Kilian, a spokeswoman for the German National Tourist Board, conceded to the New York Times that the buoyancy could potentially come to an end with the return of bad weather, but with a hunch that appears to be shared by her compatriots and foreign experts alike, she suggested instead that "something basic has changed".

Property investors will be hoping that this change has an overwhelmingly positive impact on the property market and that prices and rental demand will both increase at an impressive rate in the years ahead.