Monday property news update
Reading the rotation: what might a vaccine mean for the property market?
2 minutes to read
The engine of the global recovery
Shares across Asia hit new records overnight as markets continued to digest the success of Pfizer's preliminary vaccine data and several pieces of positive regional economic data emerged.
Retail sales in China climbed at their fastest pace so far this year during October, climbing 4.3% compared to the same month last year. Meanwhile Japan's economy, which had logged three straight quarters of contraction and was already in recession by the time the crisis hit, grew 5% in Q3 as private consumption and exports improved.
This comes after leaders from 15 Asia-Pacific nations on Sunday sealed one of the biggest trade deals in history. The deal could add almost $200bn annually to the global economy by 2030 and adds to evidence that, for now at least, the region is the engine of the global economic recovery.
Reading the rotation
Last week, news of a potentially successful vaccine sent stocks in airlines, cinema chains and events companies soaring, while shares in home working stalwarts, such as the virtual meetings software Zoom, plummeted.
In a new property market outlook, Tom Bill considers what the news might mean for housing market trends that have emerged since the onset of the pandemic.
There is one property type that has under-performed in 2020 – the large flat (prices down -8.7% May to Oct). This is due to the fact demand for larger flats has more readily switched to houses (prices up 13%). That, to some, will signal a buying opportunity.
Tracking the vaccines
As Pfizer Inc. awaits new trial data as early as this week, Johnson & Johnson launched a new late-stage trial in Britain to test a two-dose regimen of its own experimental vaccine.
Meanwhile, an independent monitoring committee will conduct a preliminary analysis of the Moderna shot’s effectiveness within days, according to Bloomberg.
This all comes as new cases and mortality rates continue to climb across most of the northern hemisphere as they decline in the southern hemisphere, reversing the trend we saw over the summer. The US has recorded more than 1m new coronavirus cases this month.
From retail to rural
The latest British Retail Consortium's retail data confirmed what the retail industry hoped for – an early start to the festive season, albeit one that has since been derailed by a 2nd lockdown, writes Stephen Springham.
Meanwhile the Agriculture Act, passed into law last week, this heralds a new future for the agricultural sector and landlord/tenant relationships. Edward Holloway unpicks the key points, and Andrew Shirley has more.
In other news...
Is it the end of the line for mass transit systems, new ‘mega labs’ to boost Covid testing, overseas enrolment at US colleges drops by most since 2003, and finally, skyscraper storytelling.