A report from HousingWire. "HousingWire spoke to Todd Bitter, a loan originator servicing the Greater Phoenix-Scottsdale market. HousingWire: What are you doing within your lending business to adapt to the current market situation? Todd Bitter: For the last quite a few years, I haven’t done an FHA. I haven’t done a VA loan. I’ve never done a non-QM loan since 2008. My product lines are not blowing up around me like the non-QM people are losing their deals left and right. The low-score FHA people are losing their deals left and right because the FHA guidelines are going higher and higher."

From Bloomberg. "Mortgage lenders are preparing for the biggest wave of delinquencies in history. If the plan to buy time works, they may avert an even worse crisis: Mass foreclosures and mortgage market mayhem. As many as 30% of Americans with home loans — about 15 million households — could stop paying if the U.S. economy remains closed through the summer or beyond, according to an estimate by Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics."

"Laura Habberstad, a bar manager in Washington, D.C., got a reprieve from her lender but needs time to catch up. The coronavirus pandemic snatched away her income, as it has for millions, and replaced it with uncertainty. The restaurant and beer garden where she works was forced to shut down temporarily. She has no idea when she’ll get her job back. And how do you search for another hospitality job during a global pandemic? Now she’s living in Oregon with her mother, whose travel agency was forced to close."

"'I don’t know how I’m going to pay my mortgage and my condo dues and still be able to feed myself,' Habberstad said. 'I just hope that, once things open up again, we who are impacted by COVID-19 are given consideration and sufficient time to bring all payments current without penalty and in a manner that does not bring us even more financial hardship.'"

The Portland Mercury in Oregon. "In March, the city and county created a temporary safety net for those renters by announcing a moratorium on any evictions due to non-payment of rent related to COVID-19's financial strain. But neither Portland nor Multnomah County have created new financial support for small-scale landlords who rely on rent payments to pay their bills. 'I'm worried that, if renters are getting protections and banks are getting a federal bailout, we're going to be ones left holding the bag,' said one landlord who leases out a triplex in Southeast Portland."

"This landlord purchased her rental property a few years ago as a place to eventually move her aging parents into. She decided to lease out the house to cover the mortgage costs. After paying mortgage, utility, and lawn care bills, the rent leaves her with around $100 in revenue each month. 'I'm living paycheck to paycheck right now,' said one landlord who rents out a single home to a couple in Northeast Portland (who also asked the Mercury to remain anonymous to protect their privacy). 'If my tenants don't pay rent, I can't pay my mortgage.'"

From Roseville Today in California."For a few days last week, there was no housing market and the value of house on the market declined. When this happened, we were negotiating with a buyer on one of our listings. Overnight we had no negotiating power and because our clients need to sell, we were forced to accept an offer which the week before we would have rejected."

"Even now, with real estate, title and escrow companies being essential, values are going to continue to decline. There are fewer buyers in the market due to layoffs and general uncertainty. This may be balanced by fewer listing coming on the market but form what we understand lenders are scrambling to revise loan qualifications and valuations which will make it more difficult for buyers to get approved for loans and if they qualify, reduce the amount of the loan. Sellers will be forced to lower their asking price to find a qualified buyer."

The Dallas Morning News in Texas. "Homebuilders don’t just fret about finding new customers during a pandemic. They also have to worry about the houses they’ve already sold. Home sales that builders made months ago may now be in doubt with record job layoffs and the spreading COVID-19 virus. 'That’s a real concern from the builders I have spoken with,' said Phil Crone, executive officer of the Dallas Builders Association. 'Until some clarity comes on how long we are going to be grappling with the virus, I’d expect a few buyers to walk away, especially if they are not secure about their employment or financial situation.'"

"Such contract cancellations are common during economic downturns. They added thousands of new houses to the inventory back during the Great Recession when buyers walked away from purchase deals. Not only are buyers worried about their incomes and ability to pay for that new home, some of them may question what will happen to real estate values if there is a prolonged recession."

"'I’m trying to decide if we go through with the deal, try to renegotiate or just walk away from the deposit,' one new homebuyer moving to North Texas said. Robert Dietz, chief economist with the National Association of Home Builders, said he expects to see data on the buyer walk away rate in the next 10 days or so. 'I think we’re going to see cancellations increase,' Dietz said."

From Mansion Global on New York. "The coronavirus paralyzed the Manhattan real estate industry last week, with just two high-end homes entering into contract, according to the weekly Olshan report, which tracks contracts signed for homes asking $4 million or more. The last time the Olshan report recorded only two contracts signed in a week was Aug.17-23, 2009, during the market collapse."

"The priciest apartment to find a buyer last week was a 6,166-square-foot duplex condo at the five-unit 397 West 12th St., asking $11.25 million—significantly reduced from its $18.5 million listing price when it hit the market in April 2017."

"The No. 2 contract was a 3,007-square-foot four-bedroom at The Manhattan House, at 200 East 66th St., which was asking $5.25 million when it was listed in June (slightly less than the owners paid for it in January 2012, according to Ms. Olshan)."