A report from CBC News in Canada. "There is nothing so bad that it does not end up helping someone is the old saying, and while the COVID-19 outbreak is bad for pretty well everyone, long-suffering renters may finally get a break. Already, there are early signs that while the supply of rental properties continues to grow, demand has slumped, even in Canada's hottest property markets, such as Vancouver and Toronto. That's partly because the market was already showing signs of strain and was due for a readjustment. Like other sectors of Canadian real estate, the sudden economic downturn will expose faults in a rental market dependent on high levels of borrowed money."

"The devastated Airbnb market, down about 95 per cent, is only part of it. Unemployed gig workers and students are moving in with relatives. Immigration has slowed to a trickle. 'All this is going to hit the rental market first," says Ben Rabidoux, who runs North Cove Advisors, an information service for the professional residential real estate market. Of course, a warning to landlords of falling rents will be good news for renters. 'We have a 50-year high in rental units under construction and a 50-year high in completions of those rental units coming online,' says Rabidoux. That's over and above the current flood of condos built to sell to Canadians as rental investment properties. And once underway, he says, those projects will continue to inundate the market over a two-year timeline."

From Global News on Canada. "The City of Montreal says it is financially prepared to face the potential impact the novel coronavirus crisis will have on its economy. Before the coronavirus crisis hit, the city was going through a property boom. But the Moshe Lander, a Concordia University economy professor says a few things are missing. 'You build today in the anticipation there is going to be people there to fill it. Are we going to be talking five years from now in a property glut?' Lander said."

The Times of London in the UK. "Demand for mortgages and credit card lending is expected to fall in the second quarter as the economy suffers a sharp fall in output, the Bank of England has forecast. Hansen Lu, a property specialist at Capital Economics, the consultancy, said: 'Mortgage availability is set to collapse in the second quarter.'"

The Khmer Times in Cambodia. "Sales of apartments have fallen and have inflicted a severe blow because most potential customers are foreigners. With lockdown being imposed in many countries and travel being banned, there are hardly any customers who have shown any interest in buying property. Life Design Partners alone has 70 percent loss in sales in the face of the viral pandemic. Some tenants are even asking for a 50 percent discount having been hit by pay cuts, forcing the hands of property owners reliant on a steady cash flow."

"Some of the potential customers have been waiting for the downturn so that they can buy while some of the owners are desperate for a panic sale. 'Don’t panic sell.' said Paul Ellender, Manager of Freer Properties.. 'It is always best to buy in a downturn and sell in an upturn. Now is a good time to review your portfolio.'"

The South China Morning Post on Hong Kong. "Some investors who bought property in Hong Kong during a mid-2019 peak in prices might not even recover their monthly mortgage payments, as rents continue their headlong dive, industry experts said. 'If vacancies rise, landlords who cannot cover their mortgage payments with rental incomes, will be forced to sell their properties,' said Hannah Jeong, head of valuation and advisory services at international property company Colliers International, adding that this will swell the ranks of homes available for steep discounts, particularly in New Territories."

"Home prices did, in fact, fall 7.9 per cent in March from their peak in June last year, according to Centaline. Wong Leung-sing, senior associate director of research at the agency, said 639 old homes were sold at 10 major housing estates in the city in the first quarter this year, up 1.4 per cent from the previous quarter. 'The rise in transactions is driven by more vendors selling their homes at bigger discounts and encouraging prospective buyers to return to the market,' he said."

"In New Territories, a 356 sq ft unit at The Reach in Yuen Long was recently rented out for HK$9,500 a month, about 10 per cent less than a previous lease of HK$10,500, according to Centaline. Units of a similar size were selling for HK$5.4 million in June 2019, and those who bought them at that point will be required to pay a monthly mortgage instalment of as much as HK$17,069, based on a 80 per cent loan for homes worth HK$4 million to HK$6 million then. This means, the landlord might have to fork out an additional HK$7,569 to meet their mortgage commitment."

From Mingtandi on China. "The containment measures and economic uncertainty that weakened leasing demand during the period also had an impact on capital markets, with only four significant assets being traded in Shanghai during the quarter, according to Savills. Property investment across all sectors stalled, dropping nearly 78 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019 to total just RMB 12.4 billion during the period from January through March, according to Savills, which tracked deals over RMB 500 million. Savills noted in its quarterly Shanghai report that deal negotiations are taking longer than usual in the current climate due to a mismatch of pricing and expectations."

The Otago Daily Times in New Zealand. "Economists have predicted a downturn in prices for the remainder of the year following a downward trend in the economy due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Dunedin Bayleys Metro real estate agent Dave Buckley was aware of economists’ comments about prices and said the market was likely to 'swing from a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market. 'The buyer’s going to become king.'"

From Nine News in Australia. "Economists are increasingly calling Sydney a buyer's market as key suburbs in the city suffer a fall in asking prices due to conditions created by COVID-19. Data compiled exclusively for Nine News by My Housing Market found suburbs in the Canterbury-Bankstown area, Sydney's north west and south have all had significant falls in asking prices and a rise in the number of homes for sale. In Canterbury-Bankstown the median asking price has fallen 5.2 per cent in the past month to $970,000 and listings have risen by 4.5 per cent."

"Greenacre offers buyers the most choice right now, followed by Revesby, Bankstown and Padstow. In Sydney's northwest, the median asking price is down 6.5 per cent and listings are up 8.6 per cent. The suburbs with the highest listings are Baulkham Hills followed by Carlingford, Castle Hill and West Pennant Hills."

"My Housing Market chief economist Dr Andrew Wilson says current market conditions are similar to those experienced a year ago, when buyers and sellers were largely dormant over fears of a sharp and sustained crash in home prices."

From Domain News in Australia. "The six-month grace period being offered by the banks to mortgage holders may not be enough to see off the ill-effects of the coronavirus-induced economic weakness and a longer period may be needed, economists warn. 'Our assumption is there will be a major spike in credit defaults across the entire country in the next 12 months,' said Riskwise Property Research chief executive Doron Peleg. Mr Peleg said for the least desirable houses, a forced sale could result in up to a 15 per cent price reduction."

"Domain economist Trent Wiltshire said that forecast could be optimistic, but he agreed this might be necessary if mass forced sales were to be avoided, and with them mass price falls. 'There’s a potential this crisis will drag on well into 2021 and some people might need to be able to defer their payments for a lot longer,' he said. 'If that’s the case and the economy’s still very weak and people start defaulting on their mortgages, we might see more significant price falls.'"

"Mr Wiltshire said some might still slip through the cracks, as banks would try to manage the arrears on a macro scale and not try to keep every person in their homes. 'There’s no doubt some people will need to sell their homes and that’s always the case,' he said. 'There’s always people who can’t afford their mortgage, who have negative equity. But it’s about the extent that that happens. Banks are worried about that being widespread and not just a small uptick.'"