July 4th was dubbed Super Saturday by many. It was the day, the pubs, restaurants and hairdressers were opening and the start of the economy getting back to normal. The problem is, it wasn’t quite as super for many as they had hoped for.
Parts of the country saw the UK thrive. Some felt the packed pubs in Soho was stupidity, others relieved that people were venturing out and spending.
Lancaster and Morecambe opened slowly. Not all chose to open and for those that did, some reported it was quieter than expected. The consumers that ventured out though reported they felt safe and that measures were been followed.
Across the UK, there was a 20% increase in activity before 5pm. This rose to 36% after 5pm. Footfall though was still down by over 50%, as some people still felt it was too early.
They say consumer spending is closely linked to the housing market. At JDG , it certainly was Super Saturday with 5 sales agreed. This though followed on from super June with 46 new sales agreed across Lancaster and Morecambe.
PwC are a company which report on money in consumers pockets. In June sentiment was up with the majority of householdsunaffected finacially by Covid-19. People may have been furloughed, but by being stuck at home – they haven’t been able to spend. 1 in 5 families actually are saving money.
The hope now is that with more money in consumers’ pockets, VAT reductions for the hospitality industry, creation of the eat out to help scheme, high street footfall will continue to increase and it will have a similar bounce back as the housing market is seeing. When people look to move, they tend to spend in other sectors – DIY stores, carpet shops, garden centres and furnishing stores all benefit hugely.
However, the success of it all very muchly hangs on employment levels after furlough ends in October. We will watch with our breath held and pray that the stamp duty reductions keep the housing market going strong.
If you would like to discuss the local property market, please get in touch. My name is Michelle Gallagher and I am here to help. Call me on 01524 843322 or email me at michelle@jdg.co.uk
Source: Dataloft, PwC