International Cities Enjoy Property Sales Recovery

Despite localised outbreaks, a number of global cities are seeing sales volumes continue to recover with April so far looking to be the low point for residential activity.

New outbreaks have emerged in parts of the US (Southern & Western states), Spain (Catalonia, Galicia) as well as Melbourne which has led to the city entering lockdown again and the state border closing between Victoria and New South Wales, for the first time in 100 years. Perth has also moved to limit international arrivals to 525 a week.

The UK has also announced its long-awaited 'traffic-light' list of 74 countries and territories which Brits can travel to without self-isolating from 10 July. Whilst France, Spain, Italy and Germany are included, Portugal, the US and Canada are currently omitted. In the case of Australia and New Zealand, despite being on the list, their borders remain closed. People resident in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will still have to self-isolate on their return from "amber" rated countries under the terms of the deal.

In the Eurozone, Capital Economics has revised their GDP forecasts upwards for 2020 as activity has rebounded faster than they anticipated.

In the UK, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a slew of measures to boost the UK's economy including a stamp duty holiday for homes priced below £500,000 which will start with immediate effect.

Knight Frank's new Spain Covid-19 report highlights how the private rental market (PRS and build-to-rent) in the country's main cities is expected to flourish as banks become more cautious when it comes to lending to individuals but continue to look more favourably on funding residential development.

New research confirms where the most expensive homes in Spain are located. Data from online platform BrainesRe pinpoints the 25 Spanish towns where average prices exceeded €3,300 per square meter in the first quarter of 2020, including eight municipalities in the Balearic Islands.