Knight Frank Daily Update Wednesday 20th May
Oil recovers, Berlin's reopening and the lockdown lift-off
2 minutes to read
Good morning,
Need to know
The surge in markets at the start of the week fizzled out overnight as doubts emerged over the effectiveness of a vaccine purporting to show an immune response to Covid-19.
The recovery in oil prices continued. April's 30% drop in consumption is abating as green shoots of recovery emerge.
The number of registered coronavirus deaths in England and Wales dropped for the third week running.
Coronavirus fatalities are falling at such a pace it may be “difficult to find” people with the virus on their death certificate by the end of June, the deputy chief scientific adviser told the Downing Street press conference yesterday.
Just over a third of companies in Britain believe they can fully restart operations while implementing the government’s coronavirus workplace guidance, according to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce.
Some 45% of firms said they would be able to partly reopen and 10% said they would not be able to operate at all.
In the US, all 50 states are now moving to reopen, though there remains large discrepancies in approach.
The property market
A week has passed since the government relaxed restrictions on property transactions and the data already tells an interesting story.
The rebound in house purchase enquiries last week was bigger than the so-called ‘Boris Bounce’ that followed December’s general election result, signalling a short-term surge in demand, according to research from Tom Bill.
In the week ending 17 May, the number of enquiries from the internet and social media was the highest it has been in a year and 8% above the previous peak in early February.
The data covers listings portals such as Rightmove and OnTheMarket, all social media channels, emails sent via the Knight Frank website and enquiries made via its chat function.
Educational property owners are rethinking their use of real estate in the wake of the pandemic, according to Anna Ward. While online learning is unlikely to ever be a complete substitute for face-to-face learning, the piece outlines ways investors can be creative, generating new income streams to alleviate potential drops in fee income.
Kate Everett-Allen has this analysis of conditions in Berlin, which is now open for business having endured a comparatively short 29-day lockdown.
Berlin has been high on the radar of investors for several years, in part because of its relatively low capital values, but also due to its strong tenant demand and diverse employment base.
Some 31% of the population is aged between 25 and 44 according to Oxford Economics, and real household disposable incomes, after dipping in 2020 due to the Covid-19 crisis, are expected to increase by 11% over the next four years.
Finally, Will Matthews is hosting a new weekly webinar for 30 minutes at 9:30am every Thursday morning, with views, data and emerging trends covering all commercial property sectors. You can sign up via the daily data dashboard here.
If you have any questions, please contact me, or the team.