Knight Frank daily update: Thursday 23rd April
Good morning
2 minutes to read
Economic headlines
Shares in Asia were largely flat overnight, continuing a mixed week for equities. Despite weak performance in recent days, an index of global shares is up nearly 25% from its March low.
Oil rebounded after this week's historic sell-off.
The New York Times has this useful graphic outlining where cases are rising, flat lining or falling. It illustrates the challenge for emerging markets as cases begin to fall across Europe.
In the UK, London’s services-based economy is likely to be least affected by the pandemic, with the West Midlands, home to many car manufacturers, likely to be most affected, according to regional forecasts published by KPMG. The report shows the scale of the recovery in 2021, which mirrors the steep contraction expected in 2020.
Public Health England is aiming to train thousands of contact tracers within three weeks to allow the country to exit the lockdown.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said yesterday Britain had "reached the peak", while chief medical officer Chris Whitty said the number of people in hospital with coronavirus is “clearly improving” in several parts of the country, particularly in London, and “broadly flat” in the rest of the UK.
Property market headlines
On Monday we outlined a five-point plan to reignite the housing market post-Covid. One of our key recommendations was for greater flexibility around the payment by developers of planning obligations, such as section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments. Local authorities are now exploring just this issue, with recommendations to delay CIL payments to support developers during the pandemic.
This morning, Kate Everett-Allen launches our new Global Residential Outlook. Her analysis includes data from markets around the world, which includes: a 40% rise in Auckland home sales in the first quarter of 2020; a mixed picture of new activity across China, Hong Kong and Singapore; and the resumption of construction on nearly 27,000 new homes in Madrid, as industry there goes back to work.
We continue to keep our ear to the ground with our diary of an agent feature. This morning, Moreas Madani in Knight Frank’s Prime Central London New Homes team notes that he's seeing continued international interest, particularly from buyers accustomed to buying off-plan who are keen to purchase while sterling is suppressed.
While mortgage lenders are slowly embracing remote valuations, Knight Frank Finance's Simon Gammon outlines the challenges faced by home improvers looking to remortgage higher value properties while restrictions on movement remain in place.
Meanwhile later life finance expert David Forsdyke has this analysis of Lifetime Mortgages after the Association of British Insurers (ABI) raised concerns that people were accessing too much of their pension pots to offset financial burdens accrued during the crisis.
Finally, if you have time for a lockdown coffee today why not unwind with Andrew Shirley, who marked yesterday’s Earth Day with a look back at his interviews with some of the world’s leading conservationists.
If you have any questions, please contact me, or the team.