So, 2020 is probably not turning out as we all hoped it would, back at the start of the year.
Having seen an election and Brexit put the brakes on the economy for a long period of 2019, the new year started with a sense of optimism for many. But while the current global economic situation feels a little precarious as a result of the Coronavirus, the impact on business and the financial markets is only half the story. Let’s be honest, what we are experiencing now is going to have an impact on the markets and economies both local and global for the foreseeable future. There will be no quick fix and as frustrating as it is, all that we can do is be patient.
The housing market, for most of 2019, was kept stagnant by numerous factors. The optimism of 2020 has now been replaced by an acceptance that the inertia we experienced before, will probably continue until the Coronavirus is under control and confidence returns to the wider world.
That being said, the world of stocks and shares, mortgages, and property sales will be benefitted only if we deal with the other side of the Coronavirus story currently unfolding – The human impact. Let’s not forget amongst all the turmoil of emptying supermarket shelves and the inconvenience of having to work at home with the kids running around, that, at worst, some have lost loved ones.
We are a global world that has seen a virus spread without respect for borders because our lives are interlinked and it will only be by working together as one planet that we will come out the other side in better shape. What some may have once considered being someone else’s problem far away is now on all of our doorsteps and as a result, we will only come through this if we work together, listen to the advice we are given, and remember to be kind to each other.