Savills released its Global Market Sentiment Survey on 22 June, looking at how the lockdown has impacted each of the property sectors and what to expect now that the majority of countries around the world are loosening restrictions.

Occupier demand returning
With the easing of restrictions, occupier demand has been the first to begin to recover, according to Savills. Of the markets it surveyed, 30% have seen a rise in occupier demand, (across all sectors), since lockdowns have eased. For those countries no longer in lockdown – two thirds of which were in Asia Pacific – or near the end of lockdown, this figure stood at 34%.

Investment transaction volumes remain suppressed, however, with 48% citing volumes to be unchanged across all sectors, while 35% cite continued falls. Taken as a whole, just 18% have seen a rise in investment transaction activity since lockdowns have eased. In the case of capital values and rents, a return to growth is yet to be seen at scale.

Logistics, healthcare, and to a lesser extent, residential have proved to be the most resilient sectors, with some rental growth reported in a minority of markets, though the majority of respondents still reported rents to be unchanged or even falling.

End-user residential is experiencing a rebound in countries where the market has re-opened, notably China where the market was given a post-lockdown boost by the central bank’s credit easing. Here, residential volumes steadily improved from mid-February.