Knight Frank Daily Update Tuesday 23rd June
The return of cinemas, rush hour traffic and pledges to overhaul the planning system
2 minutes to read
Good morning,
Need to know
The Prime Minister will announce new measures to ease the lockdown today, with cinemas and museums in England to open their doors from the 4th of July. A decision is also likely to be made on whether to halve the minimum social distance between people to one metre.
This comes as the UK reported its lowest daily death toll since mid-March yesterday. As a result of the improving conditions, more than 2 million people shielding from the virus because clinically they are extremely vulnerable will be allowed to spend more time outside their homes from the 4th of July.
Business confidence is recovering as the economy emerges from lockdown. A net balance of 6 percent of respondents to a closely-watched survey said they would increase recruitment during the next three months, up 11 percentage points from May.
Meanwhile, Britain remains the most attractive country in Europe for financial services investment, according to EY research.
Boris Johnson will pull together a new plan with senior ministers this week aimed at unblocking talks on Britain’s future relationship with the EU, as hopes rise for a breakthrough during the next round of negotiations starting on the 29th of June.
The property market
The government is to extend the life of planning permissions this week to support the construction industry. Consented sites with an expiry date between the start of lockdown and the end of 2020 will see their consent extended to 1 April 2021, writes Anna Ward.
Data from Molior suggests developers across the capital are looking beyond the pandemic. Of the 61,300 units under construction in Greater London prior to lockdown, just 2,750 - or 4.5% - are on-hold as a result of the outbreak.
More planning reforms could materialise over the coming months. The Prime Minister's most senior advisor Dominic Cummings pledged to overhaul the planning system during a conference call with government advisors last night, according to a report in the Times.
In the latest agent's diary, Chris Druce explores what's happening to residential pricing as activity climbs, and probes how the requirements of buyers have changed as a result of the virus.
Flora Harley's analysis of real time economic indicators reveals morning rush hour traffic across 20 major cities was just 25% below 2019 averages last week. Restaurant bookings still have some way to go, however.
This week’s Intelligence Talks podcast sees Stephen Springham share his thoughts on the prospects for the retail sector, Faisal Durrani joins the discussion and explores how the serviced office sector is changing to amidst new demand for flexible space. Listen on Acast, Apple or Spotify.
If you have any questions, please contact me, or the team.