I don’t know about you, but nine months since the famed pandemic changed our lives in so many ways I still often find myself thinking ‘What the hell is going on? Is this real life?’ Many of us still have had little physical interaction with anyone outside our household, we can’t yet plan any non-virtual events with certainty, and worst of all, some would say, much of the UK is still unable to go to the pub….

As our cover feature discusses, the mortgage market hit an all-time low when the first lockdown struck, but it has recovered remarkably and in recent months has experienced a boom in demand. Our columnists in this end-of-year issue are optimistic for next year overall. However, high-LTV deals remain few and far between and those hoping for an extension to the government’s stamp duty exemption seem to be out of luck as the deadline approaches and the chancellor failed to raise the matter in the recent mini-Budget.

As 2020 draws to a close, however, an end to the madness of this year also seems to be in sight, with a vaccine soon due to be made available in the UK.

There will always be naysayers and pre-Covid life won’t resume for us all as soon as the first inoculations are distributed. But this is the news we’ve been waiting for since March.

It feels like we have turned a corner and the times when we can freely travel, hug loved ones (or strangers) and not have daily statistics dominate our lives are almost within our grasp.

I’ve heard many people say this Christmas will be ‘different’. But I hope you all have the opportunity to use the time to properly rest and recuperate and find the strength to take on 2021 with renewed energy and optimism.

And as Judy Garland first sang: ‘Someday soon we all will be together, if the fates allow. Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow.’

Wishing you all a very merry festive period and the best of everything for 2021.