Knight Frank Daily Update Tuesday 2nd June
Air bridges, student housing, and manufacturing improvements
2 minutes to read
Good morning,
Need to know
The contraction in UK manufacturing eased in May as some businesses began to tentatively restart production.
Similar improvements were reported in the US, where activity improved from an 11-year low, and the Eurozone, where manufacturing showed signs of bottoming out in April.
Economists at Barclays said the UK economy is running at 85% capacity as it begins to emerge from lockdown, with household spending just 5% off its normal level. Indicators of mobility and energy consumption, and interest in car and house purchases also show a “solid pace of recovery,” the report said.
Britain’s daily death toll has fallen to its lowest level since the lockdown was imposed, with half of hospitals reporting no deaths from Covid-19 in the past 48 hours.
Boris Johnson is planning crunch talks with Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, this month in an effort to unblock post-Brexit trade negotiations.
“Air bridges” between Britain and low-risk countries are likely to be introduced by the end of this month.
The property market
Flora Harley's analysis of global mobility data reveals positive signs of recovery globally, but the pace is slow.
All of the 18 locations we’re tracking saw an increase in visits and time spent at places of retail and recreation in the past month.
The highest increase in mobility was recorded in Milan (the Lombardy region), where mobility went from 85% below the baseline in the week ending 25 April to 42% below the baseline more recently. Vienna and Paris also saw their mobility jump by more than 30% over the past month.
In the UK residential market, Chris Druce finds more evidence of Londoners looking for a change of lifestyle.
Will Matthews and the commercial research team have released the latest Commercial Insights analysis, answering what we know, what we expect and what we question in markets spanning offices, debt markets and retail.
The research includes a focus on Student Housing by Matt Bowen, who finds purpose built student accommodation bookings for the coming cycle are on track. The current evidence of bookings from operators in May is broadly in-line with performance at the same time last year. Operators have targeted UK-domiciled students in greater numbers this year with an expectation that there may be lower international student enrolments.
Oliver Knight's analysis of the Build to Rent sector suggests that the sector has weathered the initial impacts of COVID-19 remarkably well. Rent collection averaged more than 96% in March and nearly 94% in April, according to the results of our survey of some of the biggest investors in professionally managed PRS in the UK.
Finally, in the latest edition of our podcast Intelligence Talks, Anna Ward hears from Mark Prisk, former MP and Housing Minister on his views on how the property world will adapt post-Covid.
If you have any questions, please contact me, or the team.