The past year and half have been strange, to say the least, in the UK and globally. When the pandemic landed and life went into lockdown, so many people, including the team at Peace and Co Staircase, were worried about what the future would bring. New words entered daily speech – “furlough”, “WFH” and “Bounce Back Loans”.

There were thousands of casualties, caused by Coronavirus and the economic downturn, which is tragic.

We do seem, though, globally, to be returning to some sort of normality. There were also, perhaps, unexpected consequences of lockdown and the virus.

Property

Normally, in any economic downturn, house prices and property transactions are usually the first to take a hit. And yet … property prices have increased rapidly in the past year and show little sign of slowing. It’s a seller’s market, with more buyers chasing properties than are available. Why?

Space.

People working remotely, with kids isolated from schools and lessons, have realised that a kitchen table in a 3 bedroom home of 4 people doesn’t cut it. Property demand for 4 and 5 bedroomed properties have soared, according to statistics and homeowners have extended or go into lofts with conversions.

Disposable income

As few people were commuting, apart from key workers, roads emptied to Christmas Day levels of quietness. Workers were no longer travelling to work on trains, in cars or buses and people found their living costs dropped. Not only did the car get filled just every two months, but those trips into coffee shops for a latte and sandwich on a break stopped. It’s why companies like Pret A Manger introduced a £20 per month subscription scheme – not to be generous, but to survive.

People were not going to pubs or eating out, spending on holidays or staycations, and, if they were in work or on 80% salary from furlough, income wasn’t an issue for many.

Lots of tradespeople we know reported saw a boom in demand for their services and online activity surged to such a point that shops like B and Q had a two hour wait to get on to their website on some days during lockdown.

Demand for staircases

We found too, at our premises in Great Yarmouth, that demand for our staircases increased – due to the property boom and the increase in disposable income.

As a result, we’ve invested in a new website to showcase our website from a local freelance web designer, Get Pro Copy, who is based close to us in Bradwell, Great Yarmouth. We’re delighted with this new website and hope you like it too.

If you need a new staircase as a residential homeowner, builder or property developer, we’d be delighted to assist you.

Contact us today.