June 2020
Usually under this heading I reflect on the performance of the local property market and focus on Torbay, the South Hams and Plymouth. As we now approach the summer months with little or no transactional evidence to consider since early March, any comment about the property market would be premature so far as this year is concerned.
All one can say at this stage is that Coronavirus will have affected different parts of the economy in different ways. (I wish I had purchased shares in supermarkets in January and have sympathy for those who have recently acquired shares in IAG, for example.) This will be reflected in the property market also. Those whose incomes have not been affected by lock down will find that they are in a strong position when it comes to arranging a mortgage. Less those, I think, who are self-employed and have not been able to qualify for any government support scheme.
How this plays out in the market is as yet unclear but there will be a difference in values which I think will take some months to determine. The property market is still in shock and the state of the property market and the willingness of lenders to undertake risk again is not really going to be known until the spring of 2021.
