A report from AFN News Services. "There’s good news and bad news for homebuyers and sellers in the pandemic’s wake, according to Realtor.com. 'While many cash-strapped buyers have eagerly anticipated prices falling, triggering a real estate bonanza similar to the Great Recession, that’s not likely to happen this time around,' the site said."

From Bloomberg on New York. "At the start of 2020, New York’s luxury real estate market was finally showing signs of life. There was still a large oversupply of new condos on the market, but buyer and seller expectations—never aligned in the best of circumstances— were slowly beginning to move in tandem. Now, more than two months into the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown, with the summer sales season looming, the industry is once again bracing itself for an uncertain market."

"'Prices had been falling for several years at the high end,' says Jonathan Miller, the president of appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. 'The question is: Will sellers and developers at the top of the market capitulate to another step-down.'"

"'We had 20 transactions last week [ending in May 17] in new development sales,' says Shaun Osher, chief executive officer of the real estate brokerage Core NYC. 'But closings don’t define where the market is right now; they define a market that’s already gone by.' Because the spring sales season was effectively canceled, Osher says, 'We have a huge pent-up inventory of product that’s going to flood the market in the next 30 to 60 days, and it will be interesting to see what that does to pricing and consumer confidence.'"

The Destin Log in Florida. "Many city dwellers were considering a move out of urban population centers prior to the pandemic; the health scare has accelerated that exodus. There was already a move afoot of residents relocating to areas with friendlier state income tax laws while fleeing states with high property taxes. Former residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are flooding Florida and purchasing homes. Of course, there is a flip side. They have to sell their existing homes back East, where there’s an oversupply of product and an undersupply of buyers."

"Not all metro areas are holding steady. The Dallas Morning News reports that April saw the biggest annual decline in home sales in nine years there, with home purchases down 17% from a year ago. Pending home sales are down 22%. Median home prices in some Dallas suburbs are down 35% from a year ago. So this is a huge and sudden downward swing."

The News Gazette in Illinois. "The 16,000-square-foot Hidden River mansion north of Mahomet is under contract to be sold to a family for use as a private residence, a developer says. Like the previous owners, the new ones plan to remain confidential, said Shawn Tabeling, of Tabeling Development Co. The asking price for the mansion and the 15 acres of land it sits on was $1.9 million when it was listed late last year. That was reduced to $1.5 million, and while Tabeling declined to disclose the price before the sale closes, he said, 'We had a few parties interested after the price reduction.'"

"The mansion was built in the early 2000s for software developer Bruce Artwick. While Artwick owned it, the estate was once listed for $14.9 million and later for $6.9 million. He owned it until 2015, when it was sold at auction for $4,000,005. While the sale of the 200 acres to Tabeling hasn’t yet closed — 'Any day now,' he said — he said previously his company would be buying the land for less than the 2015 auction price."

From Forbes on Illinois. "The Last Dance documentary chronicled Michael Jordan’s triumphant career with the Chicago Bulls. But The Last Chance could describe the fate of his famed Chicago home that’s languished on the market for years. The icon’s Highland Park, Illinois home was recently price-chopped again, listed for $14.9 million (roughly half its original $29 million ask price). The flat market during the current coronavirus pandemic might better explain the recent price slash."

From Realtor.com on Colorado. "The golf legend Greg Norman has relisted his massive Colorado ranch with an equally massive $10 million price reduction. Now available for $40 million, the 11,900-acre property, Seven Lakes Ranch, has been on the market since at least 2016, when it was listed for $55 million. Last year, that was trimmed just a bit—down to $50 million. After this month's cut, the ranch is even more enticing. For a deep-pocketed buyer in search of a large parcel of land, the most recent price slice represents a 27% reduction from the 2016 asking price."

The Santa Fe New Mexican. "Amid shutdowns in the state and across the nation, vacation-rental owners in Santa Fe have been flooded with cancellations. With the city’s major art markets and other cultural draws, such as the Santa Fe Opera, canceling events scheduled throughout the summer, the local short-term rental industry, which generates up to $50 million a year through some 1,400 properties, has taken a big hit."

"Rental owners decry rules they say are forcing them to remain closed while hotels and other lodgers reopen or continue serving a limited number of guests. 'There is a discriminatory policy going on,' said Richard Woodruff, co-owner of Adobe Casitas Vacation Rentals."

The Spokesman Review in Washington. "A Spokane Valley-based short-term rental company with nearly 250 employees is permanently closing as a result of financial struggles caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Stay Alfred, which has been temporarily closed since March, was working with investors to raise a round of funding to keep the company afloat, but investors rescinded the offer. 'They ended up pulling the funding at the last minute, and we had no anticipation that funding wasn’t going to be coming in, and it kind of took the company down,' Jordan Allen, CEO of Stay Alfred, said Wednesday."

"Prior to COVID-19, Stay Alfred had more than 230 employees and was on track to generate $100 million in revenue this year, Allen said. The company, which became known for popularizing the concept of upscale travel apartment rentals in walkable locations, had operated more than 2,200 units in 32 markets across the country, including 15 units at The M Apartments in the former Macy’s building at 612 W. Main St."

"Stay Alfred is currently liquidating assets, including its Spokane Valley headquarters, which has generated interest from companies looking to relocate from larger metro areas, Allen said. A point of contention among customers was that they weren’t receiving refunds for canceled reservations. The company is assisting customers with transferring their existing reservations to other short-term rental providers. It also is working to sell some of its assets, with the funds to go toward guest refunds, Allen said."

"Allen said it’s heartbreaking the company is closing, but he’s thankful to have worked with a great team. 'We are so thankful for everything the community has done to support us, and we wish we had done a better job of winding everything down,' he said. 'I’m really proud of our team and what we were able to accomplish. If COVID-19 hadn’t happened, we would have been able to create a global hospitality brand.'"

The Times Standard in California. "Sales of existing homes in the county fell by double-digits in April from the previous month, and are down over a third from last year. The California Associations of Realtors reports home sales in Humboldt County dropped 12 percent between March and April, and are down 36 percent compared with where they were at this time in 2019. The market however remains strong for sellers, according to Dean Kessler of the Kessler Real Estate Team, who said low interest rates are motivating serious buyers to make a move."

"'After six months, I think things will fall off big time — a lot of (potential buyers) could be out of work, or feeling the effects of a loss of work,' he said."

From Bloomberg. "While sales are way down, the lack of inventory has propped up prices and led to bidding wars. 'Since the pandemic began, demand fell off a cliff,' said Taylor Marr, an economist at Redfin Corp. 'What most people overlook is that sellers also pulled back.'"

"Not all real estate agents see cutthroat competition. Nina Hatvany, a luxury agent with Compass in San Francisco, said buyers are coming back to the market but the complications of showing houses during a pandemic has weeded out all but the most motivated people. And, even then, there’s sometimes a mismatch between what people think a property is worth."

"'I’ve got plenty of buyers saying, 'I’m ready to buy if it’s a good price,' she said. Meanwhile, 'the sellers are worried about taking a big hit.'"

"Home prices will hold up, at least through the summer, but declines are coming, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. Once foreclosure moratoriums and forbearance programs end, lenders will start repossessions as unemployment persists. Ultimately, as many as 2 million homeowners will lose properties because of the the pandemic, he said."

From DS News. "The nationwide delinquency rate hit its highest single-month increase in history in April, according to the First Look at April mortgage performance data from Black Knight. According to Black Knight, some 3.6 million homeowners were past due on their mortgages as of the end of April (including the roughly 211,000 who were in active foreclosure)—the highest number since January 2015."

"This is an increase of 1.6 million since March, the largest single-month jump on record. The national delinquency rate nearly doubled to 6.45% from March, the largest single-month increase ever recorded, and nearly three times the previous record for a single month from back in late 2008. Delinquency increases in Nevada (+5.2%), New Jersey (+5.1%), and New York (+4.9%) led the states, while Miami (+7.2%), Las Vegas (+6.2%), and New York City (+5.4%) topped the 100 largest metro areas."

"Looking ahead, Black Knight estimates there could be 4.9 million loans in forbearance by the end of this month if the number of loans entering forbearance declines by 10% per day moving forward. By the end of June, there would be 5 million loans in forbearance, accounting for 9.4% of all active mortgages in this scenario."

"Under a 'more pessimistic scenario,' with the two-week average going forward and a 10% decline beginning in mid-June, 5.4 million loans would be in forbearance at the end of this month, according to Black Knight’s calculations. This would account for 10.1% of all active mortgage loans."