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You and Yours: Housing Market; High Street Report; Young Bridge

25/01/2021

Housing Market; High Street Report; Young Bridge

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Housing Market; High Street Report; Young Bridge

With time running out on the stamp duty holiday - what's happening to the housing market?

The traditional card game getting a new lease of life during lockdown.

New figures show the number of house sales registered by the Land Registry dropped by more than a third last year, compared to the year before.  In 2019, 685 thousand house sales were processed between January and October, that dropped to 426 thousand in the same period in 2020 - a drop of 38 percent.   But what does that tell about the property market?  Estate Agents say it's a lag because transaction are taking so long to go through, so it doesn't show the true demand.  That delay is also making some buyers worry about missing out on the stamp duty holiday which ends in March.  We'll speak to Professor Michael Ball who's an expert on the housing market, about that.

New research out today makes some dire predictions for the future of the High Street with more shops predicted to close for good this year and town centre vacancy rates expected to rise.   The report by accountancy firm Deloitte, says the pandemic has accelerated the decline of high street and it's going to be a longtime before we start to see a recovery.   They do predict some light at the end of the tunnel, particularly for independent shops.  We'll report from Tenby in Wales and speak to Hugo Clark the head of Retail Property Strategy at Deloitte. 

And, Bridge, the card game, has a reputation for being played by the 'older generation'.  But with more time on their hands young people have been turning to the game as a source of entertainment, challenge - and in some cases, as a way to connect with family.  We'll hear from a father and daughter who've been playing each other during lockdown.

We'd like to know how you're connecting with family during lockdown too, email youandyours@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Jess Quayle

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