The pound remained unmoved by optimistic Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data yesterday, but only because the rest of Europe has similar data.
There is a lot happening with currencies at the moment, including the end of the quarter, the partial end of the lockdown, and the effects of all this on the economy and employment. Then you have stock markets, international politics and trade deals (both in Europe and the Pacific) to consider.
But the big news underlying it all is that we are, as the Prime Minister said yesterday, “coming out of hibernation”. For many of us the first sign it will really all be over is when we see vapour trails across the sky, and that could be happening more from next week.
One of our colleagues here wondered aloud in early March what would happen if nobody bought any property abroad for three months.
The answer is that a few people did, but not many. The corporate side of our business has done very well, however, and we have adapted superbly to new ways of working.
What we and the estate agents, lawyers and other professionals we work with have also done is prepare the way for a rush of buyers as soon as flights open up on 1 July.
In most years the property business overseas largely stops in July and August, not least because rental properties are full and flights are expensive. But this year we expect viewings to continue all summer. While local experts say they don’t expect a fire sale of property, some sellers will undoubtedly be open to offers.
So while everything stopping for three months may have seemed barely thinkable in early March, this is the time to get serious about restarting plans, especially for retirees abroad, with the Brexit door closing so soon.
With the many threats to the pound at the moment, do please talk to us about locking in your exchange rate with a forward contract as soon as you can.
When you make an offer on a property you are committed to that price in euros, no matter what happens to the pound. So you need to lock it in to prevent the risk that the property costs you thousands more if sterling weakens.
Please talk to your trader on 020 8108 5337.
