A report from The New Daily in Australia. "Property prices have fallen on a week-to-week basis for the first time since August, fuelling concerns the housing market is careening towards a catastrophic slowdown. CoreLogic analysis reveals growth in average house prices has been falling for the past three weeks and has now dipped into negative territory for the first time since the 2018-19 downturn. The property market’s woes were compounded by a steep drop in clearance rates. The weekly average across capitals now sits at 30.6 per cent – the lowest result in CoreLogic’s reporting history."

"Although Sydney has a slightly higher clearance rate (32.1 per cent), the national average was dragged down by sluggish results in Melbourne (20 per cent) and Brisbane (23.5 per cent)."

The Sydney Morning Herald. "Mascot Towers owners will be asked to consider selling the complex which has been cracked since June last year following an escalation in costs to repair the building that could now total $53.5 million. Residents of the 132 apartments were evacuated in June last year over cracking in the primary support structure and facade masonry, causing fears the building had become unstable. At an extraordinary general meeting, owners will be asked to consider selling or repurposing the building, possibly into affordable housing. The date for the meeting is yet to be set."

"Resident Brian Tucker said it was 'really distressing' that residents were still out of their homes almost a year since they were first evacuated. 'Everyone is so upset with what is going on,' he said. 'The costs keep blowing out.' Another owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the cost of repairs and the 15-year strata loan was just too much for some residents. 'There is no way I can afford to pay my share,' the resident said. 'If owners decide to sell the building, the issue will be the home loan. The money from the collective sale will not be a lot and won't be able to cover the home loan amount.'"

From ABC News. "Mascot Towers, in Sydney's south, has been plagued by structural issues and cracking since the complex was evacuated almost a year ago. The price tag subsequently blew out to $15 million, then $25 million, before this week's estimate of $32 million for rectification works. A further $21.5 million in interest on a 15-year loan would bring the final bill to $53.5 million. That is around $10 million more than previous estimates, and equates to an average of about $400,000 for each owner of the 132 units."

"Treacy Sheehan owns a three-bedroom penthouse in the complex and expects to pay an additional $5,000 a month towards the repairs. 'That's on top of strata fees, mortgages, utilities — we'll all go bankrupt at this rate,' she said."

"Apartment owner Brian Tucker, who is on the Strata Committee, said owners would be asked to consider a collective sale. He conceded Mascot Towers would likely only sell for its land value. 'But what do we do?' he said. 'Do we try to get rid of it but go into debt for the rest of our lives … or keep throwing money into it but find more and more faults? It's a lose-lose situation. We have to try and find the least-worst option.'"

"Mr Tucker said the building's developer had gone into liquidation and was unable to be held responsible. The problems at Mascot Towers followed similar issues with the Opal Tower at Sydney Olympic Park, which had to be evacuated on Christmas Eve in 2018 after several major cracks were found."

From Domain News. "Most landlords are already losing money on their investment, which may explain the hesitance to cut rents for struggling tenants, experts say. Landlords who own a negatively geared property – where the rental income is not enough to cover the associated costs of owning the property, such as home loan repayments – have to personally make up the shortfall. Australian Tax Office data from 2016-17 shows 58 per cent of investment properties are negatively geared."

"Even with an impending tax rebate, Camberwell landlord Josh Hartwig would struggle to accommodate a rent decrease if his tenant needed it. 'If the tenant stays in there, I can continue as long as I’m at least working,' he said. 'But it is going to cost me 150 bucks a week to keep the place with the tenant in there.'"

"Mr Hartwig’s loan was recently switched from interest-only to principal-and-interest, increasing his costs. His partner also recently had to close her Pilates studio and was on a reduced income. He said he’d need help from the banks to be able to afford it, otherwise he may lose the investment. Mr Hartwig was rentvesting and had already been trying to sell the unit since February, with little luck."

"'If the tenants are at the bottom rung and we’re in the middle and the banks are at the top, we need all the help we can get from the top,' he said. 'We’re coping at the moment and we’ll see what happens in a couple of months. If I get a buyer, I will sell it. Having said that, I’m not in a rush to sell it but it would make things a lot easier.'"

"AMP Capital economist Shane Oliver said: 'Financially it makes it more difficult for the landlord. They would be more vulnerable to rent reductions than landlords who aren’t negatively geared.' Mr Oliver agreed that the typical landlord was wealthier and should be able to absorb the loss, but said those whose job it was to manage several of their investment properties might struggle. 'There would be some people who run this as a business, with multiple properties negatively geared,' he said. 'They might find themselves in a position where they can’t make the repayments.'"

The Daily Telegraph. "Desperate landlords are offering Sydney homes rent free for up to a month or at reduced rates in an attempt to attract new tenants and stave off costly long-term vacancies. The increasingly generous offers helped push advertised house rents down nearly 5 per cent over March, while unit rents dropped 3.1 per cent, SQM Research showed. Rents were likely to fall further as the coronavirus crisis continued and vacancies climbed, SQM reported."

"There is already evidence social distancing measures and travel bans drove a spike in vacancies in areas once dominated by Airbnb rentals and international student accommodation. Data from realestate.com.au showed a 20 per cent rise in Sydney rental listings in the first week of April, which economist Nerida Conisbee noted was mostly from short-term accommodation becoming available."

"The trend was most prevalent in northern beaches suburb Avalon Beach and inner west enclave Rozelle, where the supply of rental houses doubled. There was a similar increase in the supply of rental units in eastern suburbs Clovelly, Double Bay and Little Bay. Younger renters uncertain about the future of their jobs were also beginning to move out of sharehouses in areas such as Balmain to move back in with their parents, Ms Conisbee said. Some of the more generous rental deals are being offered in areas with a high supply of new housing, particularly units."

"Multiple homes in the Pagewood Green estate in Eastgardens are being offered with four weeks’ free rent. Apartments in a Mascot building on Gardeners Rd are being offered with free rent for the first two weeks. Numerous Toongabbie homes in Western Sydney are being listed with a rent free period, including a four-bedroom duplex on Burrabogee Rd with the first month offered rent free. The $650 per week price is also well below the 2018 advertised rent of $775."

"SQM Research director Louis Christopher said falls in rent last month were 'a sign of things to come.' 'We are likely to record significant increases in rental vacancy rates as 2020 progresses,' Mr Christopher said."

The Canberra Times. "Real estate agents across Canberra are reporting an increase in rentals hitting the market as coronavirus creates uncertainty for landlords. Airbnb hosts looking to fill empty rooms and homeowners selling prior to COVID-19 had re-entered the rental market, according to the Real Estate Institute of ACT director Hannah Gill. Manuel Saulo had four Airbnb properties in Canberra up until January this year. He said his Turner and Braddon apartments averaged around $120 a night with occupancy rates at 93 per cent in February."

"Having let go of the lease on one property, Mr Saulo has been forced to begin accepting medium-term renters at almost half the weekly rental on his three remaining subleased apartments. 'I had to do it just to get some income,' he said."