A report from Bloomberg. "The nascent market for private U.S. mortgages is teetering on the brink of collapse as the coronavirus crisis imperils years of work to lessen the government's role in home lending. Several firms that issue mortgage bonds without federal guarantees have laid off most of their staffs and stopped doing business as the economy grinds to a halt. And the once-burgeoning market for securities that shift risk from government-backed agencies to private investors has also stalled, with some traders saying they've had trouble even getting prices."

"Many of the companies that led growth in privately-backed mortgages aren't doing business at all right now. Part of the problem for private mortgage lenders is that their own banks, which give them short-term loans to fund mortgages, either cut their credit lines or made them significantly more expensive."

"Some credit-risk transfer security investors have also lobbied the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, to let the mortgage giants either buy back some of the securities at a discount or establish their own short-term lending facilities, according to one investor who requested anonymity to discuss the private conversations."

"The investor acknowledged that such a move could seem counter to the point of transferring risk, which was to have private investors bear the risk of losses in downturns. But the person said the market is still so nascent and relatively illiquid that this crunch could drive some investors away permanently."

From Realtor.com. "When Nicholas Dahl, 36, called Chase Bank to find out about his options for mortgage forbearance at the end of March, an automated voice informed him the wait time would be 43 hours and 45 minutes. Dahl, who runs his family's art transportation business, hasn't been able to draw a paycheck since all nonessential businesses in Illinois were shuttered on March 21 due to the coronavirus pandemic. And he doesn't know how much longer he and his wife will be able to keep making payments on the three-bedroom house in the Chicago suburbs where they're raising their 8-year-old daughter."

"After three hours and 45 minutes on hold, and several times where he heard a woman saying 'hello' before going back to the call music, he finally hung up. He emailed the bank for information instead. Chase responded that he could receive mortgage forbearance for 90 days. During those three months, Dahl wouldn't have to make his payments and wouldn't incur late fees, get reported to credit agencies, or risk foreclosure. But once that period was over? All of the missed payments would come due at once."

"'I don't really think it's worth it,' says Dahl, who's losing about $5,000 in income each month his business is closed. 'I don’t really want to pay four mortgage payments in one.'"

"Since the crisis began, Seattle-area business owner and author Debrena Jackson Gandy's income has dropped by about 30%. Her husband, an Uber driver, has seen his take-home pay fall by about 40%. And the couple were worried about paying both the first and second mortgages on their four-bedroom home in the Seattle suburb of Des Moines, WA."

"So in late March, Jackson Gandy, 53, called her mortgage companies. The first one, where she has her primary mortgage, agreed to defer her April payment and add an extra payment onto the end of her loan. But her experience with Bank of America, where she has her smaller, second mortgage, didn't go as smoothly. The representative she spoke with offered her three months of forbearance instead. She could apply for a loan modification at the end of that period. There was no guarantee it would be granted."

"'It was really shocking,' says Jackson Gandy. She runs Masterminds, a personal and organizational development company that hosts events, some of which have been moved online while others have been cancelled. 'If one month is a challenge, then how can I pay four months at once?' she asks."

The Wall Street Journal. "Roughly half of U.S. households have no emergency savings, according to a Federal Reserve survey released last year. Those that do may not have enough. Almost 60% said they couldn’t tap into rainy-day funds, borrow from family and friends or sell something to cover three months of living expenses. Before the coronavirus spread, when work was plentiful, it was easy to look past the savings shortage. But after at least 17 million people lost their jobs in recent weeks, many of those without much financial cushion will struggle to make ends meet."

"Economists point to two main reasons for the savings shortage. First, incomes for all but the highest-income Americans have been stagnant or falling for decades. Median household income in 2018 was only about 3% higher than in 2000 after adjusting for inflation, according to the Census. For the poorest 20%, incomes had declined 2%. The second reason has to do with the continuing effects of the debt households accumulated before the 2007-09 recession."

"After losing her job in the 2007-09 recession, Tureka Dixon, 43, studied to become a certified glazier, learning how to sheath office buildings in glass. As recently as a few weeks ago she was earning enough to support herself and her two sons in Philadelphia while setting a little bit aside. A divorce and an unexpected surgery last year cost her some of her savings, but she had a plan to rebuild. On March 20, she got laid off and by the middle of last week was down to $600, enough for groceries through the end of the month but not much more. The mortgage and other bills would have to wait."

"'I was on the road to get myself back on track,' she said. 'I had it all figured out but then this happened. And it’s like a shock. It sets all your plans back.'"

From CNBC. "A crucial indicator of homebuilder sentiment just suffered its biggest monthly drop in the index’s 35-year history as the coronavirus pandemic hammered the American economy. Builder confidence in the market for single-family homes plunged 42 points to a reading of 30 in April, the lowest point since June 2012, according to the latest National Association of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Looking at builder sentiment regionally, the HMI in the Northeast fell 45 points to 19. In the Midwest it dropped 42 points to 25, in the South it fell 42 points to 34, and in the West it dropped 47 points to 32."

From CBS 5 in Arizona. "Take a look around, and it appears the housing market in the Phoenix area is still steady. But many real estate professionals say the pandemic has actually brought a change the Phoenix market has been needing. Lance Billingsley, a realtor, says before the coronavirus, there were just 10,000 homes available for sale in the area. 'Before COVID-19 hit, we were at record low levels of 10,000 houses in a city that has 7 million people in it. Ten thousand is a shrunken market,' he said. But since the pandemic, the number of homes has jumped to more than 14,000 available for sale."

"'What a buyer knows is that the seller is serious. They have to sell. I mean, who wants to sell when there's a pandemic going on,' Billingsley said. With more homes for sale, prices are expected to stabilize. 'It's still a seller's market. Let's not be confused by that. But in a month, the leverage has very much changed to the other team,' he said."

From Arlington Now in Virginia. "Haven’t seen your dream property pop up on our Just Reduced list? A proactively reduced price shouldn’t deter your aspirations and goals. In many cases, sellers are willing to negotiate on price, even if they aren’t the ones making the first move publicly. And, in some cases, sellers are willing to budge even more (sometimes much more) from a Just Reduced price to make a sale happen."

From Forbes. "If your idea of bliss is embarking to a place where you can watch stars twinkling in the night sky or a fast-running stream winding its way through a meadow, a sprawling estate in a remote corner of the Sierra Nevada mountain range is the perfect place to start. Known as The Cedars, the 93.6-acre property is about five miles south of Graeagle, California, and about an hour from Lake Tahoe. The property, which was subdivided from an 800-acre ranch, has been relisted for $25 million after a $30 million price cut."

From Patch Massachusetts. "This foreclosed property on Winthrop Street has dropped to under $700,000. The West Medford home features five bedrooms, cathedral ceilings, a spiral staircase, finished basement and more. It just needs some TLC from the new owner. Features: Foreclosure property. Seller wants to assign contract. This is a very rare opportunity to own an expansive home in a premier West Medford location. Custom built circa 1930s. Yes, this property needs work, but this is a property every smart, capable and adventurous home seeker should see."