A report from Global News in Canada. "Data on Canada’s housing market have yet to reveal the full impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic. But market watchers say one group of homeowners looks especially vulnerable: over-leveraged residential landlords. 'You have investors who were sitting on a portfolio of maybe five to 10 rental properties, and had been renting them all out on the short-term rental market,' said Stephen Brown of Capital Economics. But with the country on lockdown and the border with the U.S. shuttered, the short-term rental business dried up overnight, Brown noted."

"In the pre-coronavirus economy, 'Airbnb’s seemed like the best game in town,' said David Larock, a Toronto mortgage broke.r. Some struggling landlords may just have to sell their investment properties. 'Some of those people have tenants who simply can’t pay anymore, and maybe … their own incomes have been impacted,' Larock said."

"Another set of homeowners in a tight spot are those who bought a new home before the lockdown and have yet to sell the old one, Brown said. 'That’s a small proportion of people who are basically stuck now with two homes,' he said."

From The Tyee in Canada. "In Vancouver, the city with the highest gap between housing prices and incomes in North America, renters have been left questioning why they should pay so much of their now meagre incomes to landlords. Meanwhile, landlords — especially smaller 'mom and pop' landlords who rent a basement suite or a condo — are anxiously wondering if their tenants will be able to pay the rent, so they can in turn pay the mortgage."

"'These are a lot of people, their housing is contingent on them having a secondary suite, that’s how they got their mortgage financing for their principal residence,' said David Hutniak, the CEO of LandlordBC. 'They all have regular jobs or they’re pensioners on fixed incomes, and we’re getting a lot of very nervous folks.'"

From Mortgage Broker News in Canada. "With just over a week until rent cheques are due, the blizzard of rent and mortgage deferrals that hit the Canadian housing market on April 1 is expected to blow in once again. While most landlords at this point have come to some understanding with their tenants regarding late or adjusted rent payments, RealEstateLawyers.ca senior partner Mark Weisleder says there is no shortage of other issues his clients are still coming to grips with when it comes to selling their homes."

"With 44% of Canadian households reporting some form of work disruption, there will inevitably be a number of potential buyers forced to abandon their plans mid-deal. The consequences could be dire for any buyers who agreed to purchase a property only to see their finances go up in smoke weeks later."

"He recalls a specific case where a set of buyers had put down a $50,000 deposit on a property only to walk away from the deal because of an inability to get the purchase financed. The sellers wound up selling the home for $500,000 less than what had been agreed to. After being taken to court, the buyers were ordered to make up the difference and pay the sellers the full $500,000."

"Regardless of the excuse, whether it be sickness or quarantine or an inability to access capital, buyers cannot walk away after they have agreed to purchase a property. 'If they don’t close and a settlement is not reached, the seller can sue them,' Weisleder says."

From Domain News in Australia. "Sydney sellers are revising property prices more frequently and dropping them further than their Melbourne counterparts during the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show. Sellers across the country are adjusting price expectations in a bid to sell, but Australia’s biggest markets – Sydney and Melbourne – are likely to bear the brunt. 'This has probably been the quickest vendors have moved in any downturn that I’ve seen,' said Sydney agent Matthew King of McGrath, who felt sale prices in his market had already dropped 10 per cent."

"While there were some vendors in denial, Mr King said, most had accepted the need to adjust prices and were acting swiftly due to concerns of further falls. Steven Abbott, managing director of Jellis Craig, said Melbourne property prices had fallen between 5 and 10 per cent across the city."

"Buyers’ agent Peter Kelaher said the Sydney vendors who were happy to negotiate were those who had only recently come onto the market. 'The vendors with a March campaign, they were vendors who were told a price before coronavirus really hit and they’re not ready to actually get out of home and try find another home unless they get the price that they want,' Mr Kelaher said. 'They’re being unreasonable, they’ll just come off the market and the new market will start in May.'"

From ABC News in Australia. "Many Townsville residents and businesses had pinned their hopes on 2020 being a year of prosperity for the region. Coronavirus social-distancing restrictions have brought an end to crowded open house inspections and on-site auctions. Real estate agent Wayne Nicholson said that had contributed to a dramatic 70 per cent drop in sales through his Townsville office."

"'One day they were there and the next day they weren't,' Mr Nicholson said. 'We had some good momentum in sales in Townsville and then April came along and it just fell off a cliff.'"

From Starts At 60 on Australia. "As social distancing rules keep us indoors, and many out of employment, property markets across the country have taken a hit, with Brisbane house prices projected to take a hit of up to 10 per cent over the next six months. According to CommSec, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) stockbroking and financial advice arm, the plunge in economic activity due to the prolonged shutdown will begin to trickle down to property prices."

"'The usual underlying demand pulse from net overseas migration has evaporated because the border is shut,' a CommSec spokesperson said. 'New lending is expected to contract, buyer expectations have adjusted downwards from exuberance to pessimism, rents are likely to fall, auction clearance rates are expected to remain weak and turnover will be lower than usual. The net result means that price declines are inevitable.'"

From Emigrate. "If you’re considering giving Australia a try as your expatriation haven, now’s the time. The pandemic has already spiked an economic downturn, especially in Oz’s huge cities, with landlords feeling the pain of losing the majority of tenants due to their either moving back to the home country or saving money by moving in with their parents. Businesses are shedding employees like cashmere sweaters in a heatwave, and the exodus of expat workers is growing by the day."

"According to leading real estate agencies in Sydney, the exodus is responsible for a 300 per cent rise in vacant apartments over the past four weeks, with Brisbane suffering the same effects. For buy-to-let property investors it’s the worst news, but for newly-arrived expat professionals it’s a gift, as many landlords are now offering free rentals for a period of time or huge discounts for the next six months."

"Professionals in the sector believe vacancy has been the highest expense for businesses during the pandemic to date, with rental property listings being honest about the reasons for stunning discounts. Managing agents agree, adding that landlords would rather take half the rent or even none for a short period rather than seeing their properties standing vacant for an unscheduled amount of time."

"Melbourne landlords are in the same position, igniting a scramble to offer the best discounts and free rentals in the hope the pandemic will run its course before they’re forced into selling their properties at an even larger discount."