Intelligence Talks

In a bonus episode for our flagship magazine the Wealth Report which is out this week, we explore the rise of new smart cities and the metaverse.

Anna is joined by Wealth Report deputy editor Flora Harley and our guest speaker is Dr Sarah Moser. Sarah is an associate geography professor at McGill University in Montreal Canada, specialising in new cities and urban mega-developments.   

The Wealth Report explores which cities high-net-worths currently want to live, work and play in. In this episode, we look at the rise of new smart cities built from scratch and virtual ones in the metaverse. Is it worth investing in them? We look at which new cities are closest to reaching completion, Big Tech’s view of smart cities and the metaverse and why Google’s Sidewalk Lab city project in Toronto went wrong.

To read more about mega cities and Sarah’s research, have a read of our Cities of the Future article on p.80 of the Wealth Report, and you can read about the cities topping our annual City Wealth Index on p70. 

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This week Anna is joined by Knight Frank’s head of retail research Stephen Springham and retail analyst Emma Barnstable. 

They set the scene first on the current state of the UK retail sector two years on from the start of the pandemic and then look at how a consumer squeeze is impacting the market – rising prices are everywhere, the cost of margarine has shot up by over 30% in the past year, while fashion retailer Next is forecasting price hikes of nearly 4% in the first half of this year. Emma and Stephen discuss how bad the pandemic was for the retail sector and how prepared it is to face up to the cost of living crisis. They also dissect the latest January sales data and give their outlook on Britain’s empty shop numbers, with the retail vacancy rates having jumped to around 15% during the pandemic.

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Supply chain troubles are feeding into sharp build cost hikes for the construction sector in the UK. 

In this podcast, we look at how long these problems are likely to last, how Britain stacks up compared to the rest of the G7 economies and the impact on its housing delivery rates. Anna speaks to Knight Frank head of residential development land Justin Gaze and Jennifer McKeown, head of the global economics service at Capital Economics.

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We’ve seen a sharp rise in inflation and the Bank of England is expected to hike interest rates in early February. What does this mean for UK house prices? We hear from Knight Frank head of UK residential research Tom Bill and Toscafund chief economist Savvas Savouri. The pair last came on the podcast six months ago, ahead of the sharp increases in gas prices which have contributed to record inflation rates.  

But Savvas suggests that while inflation is likely to breach 6%, these rates won’t persist and predicts that inflation will ease off to around 2.5% by the summer of 2023.  

Against this backdrop, Tom anticipates UK house price growth to slow somewhat, ending the year in single digit growth territory after 2021’s unusually strong performance. However, he adds that Prime Central London could outperform the overall UK rate of growth as overseas buyers return to the market.  

Finally, they discuss the tech disruptors entering the mortgage market, with Savvas suggesting the likes of online bank Monzo, digital mortgage broker Habito and London-based fintech Perenna, could have a major impact. To the extent that mortgage rates could even fall as disruptors buy up market share, leading to more competitive rates.  

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Intelligence Talks, a podcast from the Research Team at Knight Frank. 

Every fortnight on a Friday we’ll be bringing you the latest insights on property market trends and forecasts, along with expert analysis from industry leaders. 

Each episode we'll be joined by experts from across the property industry to hear their take on everything from the impact of Covid-19 on residential development in London, to where international buyers are choosing to invest.

This podcast breaks down the news and delves into the intelligence behind the headlines. 

Launched in April 2020.

Follow us on social media here:

Instagram - @knightfrank

Twitter - @knightfrank

LinkedIn - @Knight Frank

Host:

Anna Ward - @annaroxelana

Producer and Editor:

Daisy Chakoo, Rethink Audio

Any questions? Get in touch via [email protected]

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For our final episode of the year, we look at Knight Frank’s predictions for residential and commercial property in 2022…

Anna is joined by head of international residential research Kate Everett Allen, head of UK commercial research Will Matthews and global head of occupier research Lee Elliott.

They share their key predictions for 2022, explore whether the ‘race for space’ in residential property markets will run out of steam over the next 12 months, and look at what the easing of travel restrictions will mean for cross-border activity across all property markets. They also discuss how fluid and flexible hybrid working will end up being next year and how employers' use of real estate will change.

This episode was recorded ahead of the UK government’s tightening of Covid restrictions on 8 December including an order to work from home from 13 December. 

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This episode we focus on a relatively new sector in the UK housing market: suburban build-to-rent. We’ve seen the rise of build-to-rent in city centres, but more recently major investors have been betting on the growth of rental demand in the suburbs as adults in their mid-30s to mid-40s are increasingly looking to rent rather than buy. 

Our guest this week is Jonathon Ivory, managing director at Packaged Living, alongside Oliver Knight, residential research partner at Knight Frank.

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The pandemic has contributed to sharp house price growth across the globe. In the UK, despite the end of the stamp duty holiday, demand for residential property remains strong. So, what will take the heat out of the market? To get a sense of what might be coming next, we look at what’s going on in New Zealand and Australia: both countries which have also seen significant house price growth during this period.

Anna is joined this week by Ben Udy, Australia and New Zealand economist at Capital Economics and Kate Everett Allen, international residential partner at Knight Frank.

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