A report from the Wall Street Journal. "With interest rates falling to the lowest level on record, this should be a banner time for households in search of a new mortgage. It isn’t. Mortgage availability has tightened sharply as lenders impose tougher income, credit-score and down-payment conditions and drop some loan types altogether, such as home-equity lines of credit. Trouble began in March when pandemic-related shutdowns frightened investors, prompting them to dump nearly all types of financial assets, including mortgage-backed securities. As their prices fell, yields rose, rippling through to mortgage rates."

"A weak economy puts borrowers at greater risk of losing a job and defaulting, and typically leads to tighter credit—but not this tight. Markets froze for so-called jumbo loans, which are too large for government backing, usually those that exceed $510,400. More surprising, similar problems have hit the market for mortgages guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie."

"In the past, forbearance was so rare it rarely entered into consideration. They say the fees Fannie and Freddie require to buy certain loans in forbearance force lenders to sell at losses, making them cautious on all new loans. The FHFA 'has agreed to buy loans in forbearance on terms which no one can accept,' said Lou Barnes, a third-generation mortgage banker in Boulder, Colo."

"Another problem is that lenders must keep remitting interest and principal to investors even when a borrower is in arrears, a strain for the many lenders that aren’t banks with deposits or other business lines on which to draw. 'Congress passes the Cares Act and provides forbearance for borrowers, but not for lenders,' said Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin. Redfin initially increased its minimum credit score to 700 from 650. It has since relaxed the minimum, but Mr. Kelman said the loans for self-employed borrowers and others who have difficulty documenting stable incomes won’t be eligible."

"'I don’t think that’s what the federal government intended. We are worried someone is going to ask for forbearance before we can sell the loan to investors,' Mr. Kelman said."

From CNN Business. "Amy Offield always dreamed of running a vacation rental in Galveston, Texas. Five years ago, she and her husband Chris got their wish and bought a house there minutes away from the beach. But as coronavirus spread across the United States in March, Offield, who has been a full-time Airbnb host for nearly two years, started seeing a wave of cancellations. After the long dry spell, her husband losing his software sales job and the continued burden of mortgage payments on the home, Offield made the difficult decision to sell the beach bungalow and shut down her Airbnb business."

"'It's been kind of an emotional roller coaster,' Offield told CNN Business. 'We've lost pretty much all of our income in the last three months.'"

"A number of Airbnb hosts are planning to sell their properties -- at an uncertain moment for the broader real estate market -- or get rid of some of their rentals as well as the furniture they bought to deck out their homes. These desperate moves come as hosts face the possibility of losing thousands of dollars a month in canceled bookings while bills, maintenance costs and mortgage payments pile up."

"Christina Zima, an Airbnb host for nine years, has managed 25 homes full-time primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area, only one of which she owns herself. 'I'm scrambling trying to figure out what I'm going to do, and what's going to happen in the future,' Zima said. 'I'm not making money. With the Airbnb business, I am just trying to minimize my losses. Only one of the houses is meeting its expenses, meaning my rent and utilities.'"

"Some hosts who feel the need to sell are waiting just a little bit longer. Cindy Cabrales and her husband decided to sell one of their three Airbnbs -- in Boulder, Colorado -- but they're holding out for now because they have one more booking in July that so far hasn't canceled. 'The margins are so low, it doesn't make sense to keep it,' Cabrales said. 'The pandemic just pushes it over the edge.'"

The Cape May County Herald on New Jersey. "'We can’t make plans,' Mayor Don Cabrera said recently, 'it’s not good.' As the Jersey Shore continues under the temporary rental ban, local real estate, hotel/motel owners, and renters brace for a hard economic landing. Although the short term rental ban will lift May 26, the loss of income due to cancellations climbs. Cabrera and his wife, Jeanine, feel the market strain both personally and politically. Owners of Cabrera Property Management, 35 properties from Avalon to Cape May are under their care, along with 10 full-time staff members."

"'I am personally affected,' Cabrera said. Due to cancellations, the mayor has suffered a loss of about $20 to $30 thousand. One property owner, who wished to remain anonymous, said Gov. Phil Murphy is responsible for the economic and personal agony of the state and the Wildwoods."

From Bridge Michigan. "Janice Cutting manages three AirBNBs in Ann Arbor near the University of Michigan. Profits are elusive, she said. Two of her units are leased in a rental arbitrage arrangement that lets her manage them as short-term rentals. She pays a rental rate higher than a long-term occupant would. Faced with little demand, she rented some days 'at cost or below,' she said. 'I figure some money is better than nothing.'"

"Looking ahead, with hotels and short-term rentals still not openly allowed under Michigan’s stay-at-home orders, she sees limited options for turnaround. 'I have no real future reservations,' said Cutting."

The St. Augustine Record in Florida. "Jason Kovach, whose full-time job is running two Airbnb listings in Avondale, said he also has considered turning his guest house into an apartment. But he said he’s spent so much money on high-end furniture that he doesn’t want to give up on renting it out on Airbnb yet. 'They shot the whole industry in the foot with no short-term rentals,' said."

"Kovach said he’s been able to survive the loss of income so far, but he’s had to work with his credit union to suspend payments on a loan he took out to renovate his home. 'When the panic set in, everything just stopped. Then you start thinking: How am I going to make money? The Airbnb was my full-time job,' he said."

The Miami Herald in Florida. "Sales of both condos and single-family homes dropped nearly 40% in Miami-Dade and Broward from the same month in 2019, according to the Miami Association of Realtors April 2020 report. 'Activity nearly dropped to zero starting in the end of March,' said Juan Aluma, an agent with One Sotheby’s International Realty. 'There were almost no calls from buyers. I advised sellers not to list their homes. What I can equate it to is when you go fishing and you have a bait. If you throw a stone into the water, it doesn’t matter how big that bait is, no fishes will come.'"

From Brownstoner in New York. "Another week, another look back at four of our featured listings from six months ago, focusing on homes in Beverly Square West, Fort Greene, Windsor Terrace and Cobble Hill. How did they fare? A large circa 1900 standalone house in Beverly Square West sold in April for $1.9 million, which was $200,000 below the original ask. A four-story brick Italianate townhouse in Fort Greene has been gut renovated and given a designer upgrade. This former House of the Day is still available at a new price of $3.5 million, a price cut of $850,000."

"Finally, singer-songwriter Norah Jones purchased an extra-wide Greek Revival townhouse in the Cobble Hill Historic District a decade ago and lavishly customized it. The layout is essentially unchanged, but the mechanical and luxury additions are quite significant. This former House of the Day sold in March for $7.5 million, which was $500,000 below the original ask."

From Variety on California. "While coronavirus woes have financially slammed nearly every industry, real estate has been among the hardest-hit of all. Since the shelter-in-place restrictions took effect in March, property sales in major cities like Los Angeles have mostly ground to a screeching halt that’s only now morphed back into a timid crawl. And the ultra-high-end sector — homes priced above $10 million — has been particularly impacted, with jumbo mortgages all but extinct and buyers reluctant to cut large checks in a time of unprecedented economic uncertainty."

"Last month, Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick paid $43.3 million in cash for his new Bel Air mansion, a whopping 42% discount off the original $75 million list price. And beauty mogul Kylie Jenner recently tossed down $36.5 million for her Holmby Hills compound, a 34% reduction from its initial $55 million ask."

"Last week, a brand-new mansion in Beverly Hills sold for $23.5 million, the city’s biggest residential transaction since the arrival of COVID-19. But that’s still 36% less than what the seller originally wanted in early 2019, when the house was first offered at $36.5 million. Built on speculation by billionaire Vera Guerin, the Beverly Hills-based heiress to a California real estate empire, the stately two-story structure sits just north of Sunset Boulevard."

"Despite the still-huge $23.5 million sale price, it remains unclear if Guerin reaped any sort of significant profit on her investment. Records reveal she bought the property in 2014 for $10.1 million, razed the existing house, and subsequently spent untold millions more on plans, permits and construction fees for her lavish spec-project. With realtor commissions, closing costs and taxes factored into the equation, the potential income received from the sale shrinks even further."