The Changing Landscape of Property in a Pandemic
The recent impacts of the Delta strain infiltrating the Australian community has provided a timely reminder of how rapidly the landscape of the pandemic can change. With restrictions at their most lenient in over 12 months, confidence in domestic travel strengthening and increased vitality in the CBD boosting a struggling hospitality sector – the latest wave has unfortunately curtailed some of our progress.
But with this change, we are also reminded of how well the South Australian community responds and unites in times of need. With a rapid Government response and record testing rates contributing to a successful 7-day lockdown, the positive response from the community has been heartening.
This was no more evident than walking through the CBD on Friday night to catch a glimpse of the impressive Illuminate Adelaide event and observing almost every person wearing a mask.
Businesses have now developed systems to rapidly mobilise to work from home to maintain operations as best as possible during times of lockdown, and similarly the workforce has become more adaptable and understanding of how to best operate under these conditions.
But whilst some sectors have been able to maintain operations through times of lockdown, this is not universally the case, hospitality being the obvious example. It is evident that both individuals and businesses still need assistance to survive the lockdowns with new outbreaks seemingly happening out of the blue.
Both fiscal and monetary policy have been used to combat the impacts of COVID-19. During the initial outbreak the Government introduced JobKeeper as well as other stimulus packages whilst the RBA reduced and maintained interest rates at record lows.
Whilst these measures have assisted in maintaining employment, consumer confidence remains low with the ever-present risks of lockdowns. Individuals would rather save during uncertain times than indulge on impulse purchases. When people are working from home, spending at cafes and restaurants is impacted, reinforcing the need for workers to return to the CBD to ensure the hospitality sector is supported.
Other noticeable impacts can be seen with the shortage of materials in the automotive and construction industries. People are unable to purchase new cars due to a computer chip shortage, leading to a price hike in the used car market. Within the residential construction sector, despite a large uptake in new homes and renovations occurring due to record low interest rates – material shortages have caused delays and pushed back completion dates.
Despite the global climate being uncertain and the risk of lockdowns still present, there is an air of optimism that our ability to vaccinate the population will be the key to getting things back to normal.
The recent outbreaks and lockdowns have re-emphasised the importance of vaccination and as momentum continues to build with vaccination rates increasing, there is a positive outlook looking ahead to 2022.