Someone in Brockton Is Making $25K on the World Cup? A Home Walking Distance from Gillette Is Asking $32k for the Week. Everyone's Cashing In — and What This Could Mean for Your Property Value -Part 5

Explore Airbnb listings perfect for the 2026 World Cup near Gillette Stadium. Enjoy a poolside retreat in Walpole or a serene waterfront escape in Foxborough, all minutes from the action. Book your stay now!

Someone in Brockton is renting their house out for the World Cup and claiming they're going to make $25,000.

I saw it on a community Facebook page and my first reaction was the same as yours: Sure you are.

So I looked into it. And here's the thing — they might actually be telling the truth.

Boston-area Airbnb prices during the World Cup are projected to be the highest of any of the 16 US host cities. According to reporting from the Sports Business Journal and the Boston Globe, some homes in the immediate Foxborough area are already listed at $30,000 to $40,000 for a single week. Premium properties within a couple miles of the stadium are commanding as much as $3,100 per night. For someone in Brockton renting for the full tournament window, $25,000 is aggressive — but it's not fiction.

I pulled up Airbnb this morning just to see what people are actually asking. A four-bedroom in Walpole — pool, walk to Gillette — listed at $12,941 for seven nights. A waterfront five-bedroom in Foxborough at $24,660. Another Walpole property with a backyard oasis going for $32,353 for the week.

Will every one of those listings rent? Probably not. But they don't need to appeal to everyone — they just need to find the right one. The World Cup draws a class of traveler you don't normally see at a Patriots game. Corporate hospitality groups, international executives, wealthy fans who've followed their national team from São Paulo or London and for whom this is a once-in-a-generation trip. For that buyer, the waterfront house in Foxborough at $25,000 for the week isn't a splurge — it's just how they travel.

And this isn't just headlines. Last month I was talking with someone right here in Stoughton who mentioned their friends are flying in from Scotland to catch the matches. They've been having a genuinely hard time finding somewhere to stay. That's not a stat from a news article. That's a real family, in a real conversation, dealing with a real problem. And somewhere out there is a homeowner in Stoughton, Canton, Avon, or Walpole with a spare bedroom or an in-law suite who has no idea they're sitting on the solution.

Worth noting if you're in Brockton: the city is currently working to put temporary rules in place around short-term rentals for the tournament, as many are technically operating outside current city bylaws. A quick call to town hall before you list is worth the five minutes.

A Quick Update on Where Things Stand

A lot has happened since Part 4, so let me catch you up.

The Foxborough standoff is over. For those who've been following this saga: the town won. After weeks of very public brinksmanship between a small New England Select Board and one of the most powerful sports organizations on the planet, Foxborough held its ground. The Kraft Group pledged the full $7.8 million in security funding, the entertainment license was approved unanimously on March 17, and the games are confirmed. Seven matches at Gillette, including a quarterfinal on July 9. That's settled.

The tailgating ban was reversed. Remember that one? Boston 26 announced tailgating would be prohibited, fans pushed back hard, and within weeks the decision was reversed — blamed on a miscommunication with FIFA. Good news for fans. But the back-and-forth is a useful reminder that this organizing process hasn't exactly been smooth sailing.

The $80 MBTA round-trip is confirmed and tickets are on sale now. Fourteen express trains will run between South Station and Foxboro Station on each match day, available only through the mTicket app — and you need a World Cup match ticket to buy one. They are capped. Once they're gone, they're gone.

South Shore commuters — pay close attention to this one. The MBTA has confirmed that on weekday match days, shuttle buses will replace regular train service between Canton Junction and Stoughton. If you're commuting by rail out of Stoughton, Canton, Avon, or the surrounding towns, your schedule is going to be disrupted from June 8 through July 12. Plan accordingly.

The infrastructure around this event is being built for the event — not for the daily rider. And it's exactly why fans are searching for somewhere to stay that isn't a hotel, isn't a 90-minute commute, and isn't $400 a night.

An empty Gillette Stadium awaits kickoff for an exciting matchup between Brazil and France, part of the "Road to 26" soccer event series, as the vibrant green field stands ready under clear blue skies.

The Window Is Closing

I've been writing this series since December. Part 1 covered the opportunity. Part 2 was about getting a space ready. Part 3 broke down the platforms — Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com — and the pros and cons of each. Part 4 was a news update as the tournament got closer.

We are now five weeks from the first match.

If you've been sitting on this idea and telling yourself you'll get around to it — the time is now. Getting a listing live, verified, and with even a basic profile takes time. Airbnb is still offering a bonus for new hosts in qualifying markets. The demand is there. The question is whether your listing will be.

Fans flying in from England, Norway, Morocco, Scotland, and Brazil are not looking for a hotel lobby. They want space. A kitchen. A driveway. A backyard. A neighborhood in Hingham, Stoughton, Canton, or Plymouth that feels like the real New England — not a convention center shuttle. That's what your home offers, and right now there aren't enough of them.

The Biggest Objection — And Why It's Smaller Than You Think

When I was talking through this opportunity recently with Roger Lee of HLM Group LLC — a local full-time Superhost on both Airbnb and VRBO who helps homeowners get their spaces ready and manages the entire booking process — he said the same objection comes up almost every time.

People don't want to deal with the cleaning. And they don't want to pack away their personal belongings.

Both are completely valid concerns. Here's the reality check though: cleaning is something you can hire out entirely. And here's the math that changes the conversation — one to two nights of rental income will very likely cover all of your operating costs to prepare the place. The cleaning, the packing, the staging. At current World Cup rates in our market, that math works out pretty quickly.

Roger also made a point worth sharing here — because there's been some chatter that the bookings aren't living up to the hype. His take? It comes down to how well the home is set up and marketed. The listings that are actually getting booked aren't just thrown up on Airbnb overnight. They're the ones that are presented well, priced strategically, and positioned correctly from the start. The opportunity is real — but execution matters.

One more thing worth knowing — Roger has access to a free professional photography offer from Airbnb for anyone listing a studio or one-bedroom space. Good photos are one of the single biggest factors in whether a listing gets clicked or scrolled past. If that describes your situation, that offer alone is worth a conversation.

If you've been interested but don't know where to start, or simply don't want to deal with the logistics yourself, Roger is the person to talk to. Reach out to me and I'll connect you directly.

Could This Actually Move Your Home's Value?

This is the question I get most often, and I want to give you a straight answer — because I'm a real estate agent, not a hype machine.

Goldman Sachs has analyzed the real estate impact of major global sporting events and found that host cities typically see average property value appreciation of about 2.5% in the years following the event. That's a real number from a credible source, and it's worth knowing.

Past World Cups have produced more dramatic results in certain markets. Brazilian host cities saw residential prices climb significantly in the years leading up to the 2014 tournament — infrastructure investment, global media attention, and international buyer interest all compounding over time.

But here's the honest caveat: Massachusetts isn't São Paulo. We're already one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. Home values in Hingham, Canton, Stoughton, and Plymouth aren't being held down by a lack of global visibility. Boston is very much on the map. The forces that drive prices on the South Shore — inventory, interest rates, job growth, school districts — those don't significantly move because seven soccer matches happened in Foxborough.

Could the infrastructure investment and transportation upgrades around this event have a modest long-term benefit for towns along the Foxboro corridor? Possibly. Could some of the international fans sitting in those stands in June fall in love with this region, tell their networks, and eventually show up as buyers? It's happened after major global events before.

But I wouldn't buy a house because of it, and I wouldn't plan your retirement around it. What I would do — if I had the right setup — is rent it out for a stretch this summer, pocket a meaningful check, and enjoy the ride.

If you have questions about anything in this series — whether it's about listing your home, understanding what the market is doing in your town, or just making sense of what all this World Cup noise means for your neighborhood — reach out. Happy to talk it through.

David Cutler | David Cutler Real Estate | William Raveis 📞 781-820-0672 | 🌐 cutler-realty.com | ✉️ david.cutler@raveis.com

Real estate professional from David Cutler Real Estate displaying contact information for potential clients, with a friendly smile and a backdrop of a residential neighborhood.