It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "'I've definitely seen deals in escrow when this hit, where the buyer came to the seller and said 'I'm still willing to move forward, but with this news and health crisis and all of this uncertainty I'm only willing to do it at this [particular] price,' said Noah Grassi, a realtor with Compass. 'And we've seen properties in escrow that granted a large reduction in price to keep the sale on track. The longer this goes on that's going to be the bigger impact for high-cost expensive areas like Southern California, like San Diego.'"

"He said for buyers, they may have more leverage in this market, as sellers are more excited to see offers and potentially more willing to negotiate a deal. Grassi said if the stay-at-home order drags on too long, we may start seeing people who can no longer afford to live in California, moving to less expensive places such as Nevada and Arizona. 'If we see that mass exodus of people out of California, that's what would have a significant impact on housing, and that's what we saw in the last downturn,' he said."

"The advertisements are meant to entice: A month of free rent in a high-end apartment in downtown St. Petersburg. A free pool at a new housing development in Tampa. A $20 Amazon gift card for taking a virtual tour. 'GREAT Specials!!!' Across the Tampa Bay area, there are examples of these incentives springing up, for both people looking to buy new houses or sign an apartment lease. William Ryan Homes had already been offering free pools for buyers who commit to the newly constructed homes (or $20,000 toward bonus features like a 'gourmet kitchen') in January. But lately, after seeing a 50 percent drop in purchases since the pandemic began, the company has been promoting those perks more heavily, said Tampa division president Jeff Thorson."

"The builder also started offering a price protection program, that allows buyers who have entered into a contract on a home to get a lower price if the base price falls before the closing. William Ryan Homes hasn’t instituted that program since the Great Recession. '(That program) is in case people are concerned about, 'Jeez, are the prices going to fall,' Thorson said."

"The market for homes priced about $1 million and up in North Texas is cooling, real estate professionals say. 'The high-end market is seeing a pullback right now,' said Keith Conlon, president of Sales at Dallas-based Allie Beth Allman & Associates. 'It’s definitely lower. The average price point in terms of things under contract is down from where it was a year prior.'"

"The average sales price dropped 13 percent for homes sold through Allie Beth Allman & Associates’ year-to-date through April 17 compared to the same period in 2019, Conlon said. The average sales price for the company, which trades primarily in high-end homes, fell to about $846,000 through April 17, compared with roughly $976,000 through the same date last year. 'That’s the big difference,' Conlon said. 'You’re talking about $130,000 average sales price (decrease).'"

"Many Arlington homes are still getting multiple offers, but we are seeing fewer offers in these scenarios. Homes that might have attracted 8-12 offers last spring, or even in early January or February, are mostly only getting 2-3 offers right now, and it’s still happening in the first few days of public marketing. Of course, this does not represent all properties. Some homes don’t receive multiple offers or sell in the first week. Some take multiple price reductions in order to find the market — they were on the market, but not really in the market. This is leading to some head scratching from sellers and maybe realtors alike."

"'I’m calling it the Great Pause,' said Tommy Choi, a real estate agent at Keller Williams Chicago-Lincoln Park. 'We were starting to see a shift from a seller’s to a buyer’s market even before the pandemic.'"

"Many banks and lenders have imposed more stringent requirements for new borrowers amid the economic uncertainty. The rise in rates also comes as lenders are rethinking who they will lend to amid the coronavirus pandemic. 'Lenders are announcing more stringent underwriting requirements and exiting some products completely,' said Tendayi Kapfidze, chief economist at LendingTree. 'JPMorgan is one of the top originators in the market, and they in some ways set the standard for what other lenders are going to do,' said Kristy Fercho, vice chairman of the Mortgage Banker Association."

"If a lender doesn’t make changes after one of the largest companies in the industry does so, Fercho said, they risk the possibility of attracting borrowers in worse financial shape who might be more likely to go into default."

"Just over 3.4 million borrowers, representing 6.4% of all mortgages outstanding, are now in forbearance plans. That’s an increase of 477,000 loans in just one week, or a nearly 9% jump, according to Black Knight. These forbearances represent $754 billion in unpaid principal. They include 5.6% of all loans backed by government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and 8.9% of all FHA/VA loans."

"Not all loans in forbearance are government-backed. About 740,000 loans either held on bank balance sheets or in private-label securities are also in forbearance plans. This represents $207 billion in unpaid principal balance. The majority of these loans are higher cost, so-called jumbo loans. The tally is expected to rise, along with job losses. Borrowers have faced only one monthly payment since the full economic shutdown."

"The calls coming into Iowa Bankers Mortgage Corp. are twice what they used to be — about 1,500 to 1,700 a week. Unlike most of those who have called the Johnston-based loan servicer, many of these customers have never had trouble paying mortgages before. 'You can sense the fear,' said Lorna Goeldner, a vice president who oversees the customer service reps handling the calls. 'And the hard part is, you can’t have an answer until this hardship is over.'"