A report from Bloomberg. "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator is confronting a fresh crisis for the U.S. housing market: The companies won’t buy recently issued loans that were made to borrowers who already can’t afford their monthly payments because of coronavirus. Industry executives have told the Federal Housing Finance Agency, that the issue is causing severe disruptions for the real estate sector because it’s keeping the mortgage giants from guaranteeing new loans in forbearance."

"The dilemma is the latest to emerge from the fact that swaths of homeowners have stopped making mortgage payments because of lost jobs or income. Almost 6% of borrowers had delayed making their mortgage payments as of April 12, up from 3.7% a week earlier, according to the Washington-based Mortgage Bankers Association."

From Mortgage Professional America. "Housing market potential fell as a result of the coronavirus-related economic slowdown, forcing lenders to tighten credit standards to ensure borrowers can still make mortgage payments during the crisis. In March, First American recorded a significant month-over-month drop in market potential for existing-home sales, down 9% to a 4.94 million seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR), its lowest level since 2016."

"'The pandemic’s impacts have also influenced our Potential Home Sales Model. Market potential fell in March, as lenders tightened credit due to concern that many economically impacted households will not be able to make their mortgage payments,' said First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming. 'Many potential first-time homebuyers no longer qualify for a mortgage when credit tightens. So, tighter lending standards reduce demand and, in turn, housing market potential.'"

From The Real Deal. "JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s fourth largest home loan provider, just raised its borrowing standards on home loans and suspended home equity line of credit offerings. JPMorgan’s decision to back away from mortgage lending — along with similar moves by other prominent banks — could have dire consequences for the hobbled housing market, industry pros said. Their actions also come at a time when nonbank lenders, which now provide a majority of home loans, don’t have access to Federal Reserve funds and may not be able to absorb a flood of defaults."

"'It is going to make a housing crunch that we have not had,' said Ken Thomas, a South Florida independent banking analyst. More plainly,he said, 'It is going to hurt the housing market.'"

"Other major loan providers have taken similar actions. US Bank increased its minimum credit score requirement to 680 and Wells Fargo said it was restricting its jumbo loan program. Wells will now only allow customers with at least $250,000 in liquid assets to refinance, according to the Wall Street Journal, a move designed to eliminate all but the wealthiest potential homebuyers."

From CNBC. "There has been a slowdown in asking prices. In early March, median list prices were up 4.4% annually on average. In the first half of April they were up just under 1%. That’s the slowest growth in seven years."

"'Although prices are still rising compared to last year, slower gains are indicative of early market response to economic uncertainty and hurdles to completing a transaction, along with lower buyer and seller sentiment,”' said Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com. 'While asking prices do not normally react so quickly to market conditions, Fannie Mae’s recent housing market sentiment survey showed a bigger potential seller response to COVID-19 than the potential buyer response, which could help explain why asking prices are reacting rapidly.'"

"Prices will be under the most pressure in areas where the economies depend on leisure and hospitality, according to a new report from UBS. The report mentions Las Vegas, Miami and Orlando, Florida, which were some of the hardest-hit markets during the subprime crisis. In addition, UBS lists Houston as high risk, because of its exposure to energy companies."

"Markets where affordability was already stretched, like San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle, are also at higher risk of price declines. In New York City, home prices had already been tanking, due to oversupply and changes to real estate tax laws that had benefited homeownership. Now the city is the epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus crisis, and values have nowhere to go but down."

"'Uncertainty destroys value,' said Ken Johnson an economist at Florida Atlantic University. 'The more uncertainty there is, the more a potential buyer will discount the value of the home.'"

The Gainesville Sun in Florida. "The housing market in Alachua County is usually busiest in the spring. COVID-19 shifted the market rapidly in favor of buyers. Alissa Voils is trying to sell her family’s four-bedroom, 3½-bathroom home in Wilds Plantation. She and her husband, Stacy Voils, along with their three children, plan to move to St. Johns, a suburb of Jacksonville, but changes to the housing market due to the coronavirus outbreak are making that process more difficult. 'It’s impacted how we’re looking (for a home), and probably how others are looking at ours,' Alissa Voils said."

"Whereas pre-pandemic conditions favored sellers, the market quickly turned into a buyer’s market. 'Right now there’s more leverage for buyers, or it’s more likely they can get favorable terms,' said Matt Thomas, co-owner of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Thomas Group in Gainesville."

"Despite Voils’ 3,300-square-foot home being listed at $649,000, she said she is hopeful it will find its buyer. 'We’re not particularly discouraged at this point,' Voils said. 'Even though things are at a standstill, we see it as more of a pause.'"

The Central Oregonian. "Changes are expected in the local housing market due to the coronavirus outbreak, but so far experts are unsure how severe of an impact to expect. According to Kim Gammond, communications and public affairs director for Central Oregon Association of Realtors (COAR), local agents have not seen an impact on prices at this point. A hit to the market is anticipated, but how big of a hit is hard to predict. Gammond said that since most current figures represent transactions before the Stay at Home order came down, they expect to see more dramatic impacts in the numbers later this spring. In Central Oregon, price reductions were up 15% in the second half of March compared to the first half."

"The City of Prineville Planning Department issues planning permits for residential development. Planning Director Josh Smith has seen a 'definite slowdown' since the outbreak arrived in Oregon. 'What will be interesting to see is the money side of things – not so much the builders, but the demand for building,' Smith said. 'Is the demand going to drop off? Is there going to be too much debt? Will people be cautious?'"

"He went on to point out that a small apartment complex is planned on Deer Street and another complex with more than 150 units is under construction. 'There is a lot of building that is going to flood the market with new units,' he said. 'Is that going to bring prices down and help people out?'"

The Dallas Morning News in Texas. "Potential homebuyers are understandably skittish about making a move. Record job losses and a looming economic crash do not make a good environment for home buying. A North Texas builder is hoping to assuage consumers’ fears by offering a mortgage payment protection plan. Megatel Homes — which has projects throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area — is agreeing to pay up to six months of mortgage payments if a new homeowner loses his or her job after the purchase."

"'Most of the people coming into our model homes were evading buying a house now because they could lose their jobs,' Megatel co-founder Zach Ipour said. 'That’s a concern a lot of people have that currently have a job — what if they get laid off three months down the road?'"

"The program is available for houses in the company’s completed inventory. 'When people buy the home from Megatel, if they lose their job, they receive 100% of six months mortgage payments until they find a job,' Ipour said. He said the company had been selling 40 houses a week before the pandemic and purchases had slowed to 10 or 12 a week. 'Last week we had 25 sold.'"

"The mortgage assurance offering has also kept some buyers from backing out of home purchases they had agreed to before the COVID-19 pandemic. Ipour said some builders have seen as high as 40% purchase cancellation rates. 'We have been able to save the deals people were going to cancel,' he said."

"Homebuilders and real estate agents have reported huge declines in home shoppers and sales since the pandemic hit more than a month ago. Many D-FW homebuilders are now offering purchase incentives, especially on completed inventory, said Ted Wilson of Dallas-based housing analyst Residential Strategies. 'The incentives typically include discounts, upgrades, Realtor bonuses, rebates and satisfaction guarantees,' he said."

"Wilson said builders are also struggling with more restrictive mortgage credit standards that some lenders have enacted. 'A concern that has arisen in recent weeks is the more restrictive environment for mortgage qualification,' he said. 'I think there is also some concern that buyers may have qualified for a loan pre-COVID 19 — but the current, more restrictive mortgage qualification standards may make it difficult to close with the newly required higher credit scores and down payments.'"

From Tap Into Mahopac in New York. "It’s official. Former New York Mets and Yankees manager Joe Torre is no longer a Lake Mahopac resident. The Hall of Famer and his wife sold their lakefront house earlier this month at a considerable loss. The couple bought the house in 2006 as a weekend getaway. It was put up for sale in 2018 for $1.39 million. In March 2019, the asking price dropped to $1.2 million. Last week, the 2,038-square-foot home, which was built in 1936, sold for $983,000, according to published reports."