A report from Postmedia in Canada. "Calbridge Homes knows that people are still looking to buy right now. With the current climate of uncertainty, the builder has introduced two programs to help support people during this time. The Price Drop Guarantee means that if, after your deal goes firm, there are any changes to the model price of the home you purchased, or an incentive is introduced that would have applied to your home, they will write you a cheque for the difference."

"The second program is Job Loss Protection, meaning if you lose your job within 90 days of your deal going firm, Calbridge will offer to cancel the agreement and refund all of your deposits. These deposits are normally non-refundable. 'These programs began on March 18 and have been applied to all purchase agreements written since,' says Ariana Kelly, marketing manager."

From Barbados Today. "One real estate operator who has been in the market for close to a decade, told Barbados TODAY he was concerned that things could go further south if the pandemic drags on for several more months. Speaking under condition of anonymity, he reiterated that in addition to a dramatic slowdown in new property sales and rentals, several businesses that were renting have started to negotiate for an ease."

"'A lot of the businesses that use rental space are not opened because of the curfew. So they no longer have the kind of revenue coming in that they were getting before the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of those companies have also let go staff because they are trying to remain in business,' he said. 'It is not just the real estate industry that is impacted. This pandemic has thrown a spoke in the wheel for every sector. So you have to understand that we are depending on company ‘A’ for example, to bring in income so they can in turn pay their rent. It is difficult,' he said."

The South China Morning Post. "Hong Kong’s weekend home sales flopped for the fourth time in six weeks, in another sign that the residential property industry’s worst slump in a decade has some ways to go before recovering. CK Asset Holdings sold 11 of the 170 Seaside Sonata flats on offer in Sham Shui Po at 7pm, as buyers shrugged aside the 29 per cent average discount offered by one of Hong Kong’s biggest developers. The slump in the primary market of new abodes has also spilled over to the secondary market, where desperate owners are letting go of their property with discounts, and losses in some cases."

"An unidentified homeowner sold two houses at the Casa Marina community in Tai Po this week for a combined loss of HK$6.18 million, according to data by Centaline Property Agency, one of the biggest network of agents in Hong Kong. One of them, measuring 1,896 sq ft, was bought in 2015 for HK$23.44 million and recently sold at HK$18.88 million."

"Another flat at Meridian Hill in Kowloon Tong that measures 1,542 sq ft changed hands at HK$22.8 million this week, landing the owner with an estimated HK$4.9 million loss after taxes and fees, agents said. 'Some property owners were desperate to cash in by selling their units, so prices continued to be under pressure,' said Martin Wong, associate director of research and consultancy of Greater China at Knight Frank."

From Domain News in Australia. "Prices for some of Melbourne’s most highly sought properties are tipped to ease after the city’s median auction price dropped more than $100,000 in two months amid a ban on physical auctions and a weakening economy. Houses sold at or prior to auction in Melbourne during April fetched a median price of $905,000, Domain figures show. This is down from $972,500 in March and $1,017,750 in February."

"Fletchers Canterbury director Tim Heavyside has seen a 5 per cent to 8 per cent price fall in his patch so far, but warned buyers looking for bigger bargains had another thing coming. 'If the buyer’s thinking, ‘You know what, I’ll buy that at a reasonable price,’ and the vendor says, ‘That’s reasonable,’ then there’s a deal to be struck,' he said. 'I’m not seeing many vendors that are desperate to sell and will take any price.'"

From ABC News in Australia. "Louis Christopher, the founder of SQM research says the rental markets in the nation's biggest capitals will take a big hit. SQM Research's weekly data on asking rents has already recorded a 5 per cent fall in rents in Sydney and a 2 per cent fall in Melbourne. 'We're going to see a significant rise in rental vacancies and a fall in rents,' he said."

"Mr Christopher says the drop in net migration, as well as short-term holiday rentals being transferred to the residential market, will see a surplus of around 100,000 dwellings for rent. 'That should translate into a doubling of rental vacancies across the country, which will be great for tenants but won't be so good for landlords.'"

"Christopher says the leading indicators are pointing to an imminent decline. Over the past few weeks, auction clearance rates have plummeted. They were at the start of the year averaging between about 65-75 per cent,' he said. Last weekend, the auction clearance rate fell to 30.2 per cent across the capital cities, the lowest on CoreLogic's records."

The Australian Financial Review. "Domain data showed a significant increase in the proportion of homeowners dropping their asking prices. In Sydney, 14 per cent of vendors lowered their asking price in March compared with just 5 per cent of listings in late 2019. In Melbourne, asking prices were cut on 12.6 per cent of listings in March."

"'What that shows is one of two things. The market is slowing down and it shows that vendors are becoming cautious and what they are wanting to do is actually reduce their price to achieve a timely sale because obviously there is lots of fear around what lies ahead,' Domain senior data analyst Nicola Powell."

From Mortgage Introducer in the UK. "Brightstar Group has called for the immediate and indefinite suspension of all house price indices until a meaningful number of property transactions are able to be processed. The Group said this would guard against unnecessary panic and knee jerk policy decisions. Rightmove recently suspended its house price report and said that: 'Given the lockdown and pausing of key activities in the housing market, statistics on the number of properties coming to market, new seller asking prices, and new sales agreed are not meaningful.'"

"Rob Jupp, CEO at The Brightstar Group, said: 'It is crucial that all house price indices are paused with immediate effect and continue to be suspended until the housing market is able to produce any meaningful data. To continue to produce house price indices in this situation is very dangerous. It will lead to sensationalist headlines and create panic, which could impede the return of the market when the lockdown is lifted. It may also result in knee jerk policy decisions, which could have a lasting and negative impact on the market.'"

The Tide News on Nigeria. "As the economic lockdown enters its third week, the housing sector is already counting losses as experts express fear that the built industry may witness more slumps. Former chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers Rivers State, Mr Emmanuel Mark stated that already demand for properties is going down because a lot of investors are not willing to invest in the sector, but will rather have liquid cash to stay afloat."

"On her part, Principal Manager of Custom Realities, Mrs Oriaku Hanson Oyet-Ile submitted that the housing sector was seriously hit by the economic lockdown. 'Construction costs will go up, leasing will not go up and so landlords will be willing to bring their rents down so they can survive,' she said. She further stated that, 'more empty properties will persist, because rent and buying of properties are no longer active. But those doing their own jobs will not be much affected. Wisdom requires that you be as liquid as possible now.'"