A report from the Times Colonist in Canada. "Rental properties vacated by students who have returned to their home town or native country; property owners who, faced with a shortage of international tourists this summer, put short-term vacation rental suites on the long-term market. Monthly rent for a two-bedroom unit in Victoria dropped to $1,800 in April, down 10% compared with March, according to Rentals.ca. Prices dropped more in Vancouver, according to the report, with a 15% drop for a two-bedroom unit."

"Property owners struggling to cover a mortgage without tourist dollars are more likely to put a unit up for sale, said Debra Sheets, a member of the Greater Victoria Short Term Rental Alliance. She has seen six units in the Janion, which is zoned for short-term rentals, listed for sale. Sheets said the lack of tourists is just one more challenge faced by short-term rental owners, who are already hit with the speculation tax, commercial taxes similar to hotels and a $1,500 City of Victoria business licence fee. Sheets is also concerned that municipalities could follow the Town of Sidney’s steps to ban short-term rentals."

The Times of London on the UK. "What will happen to London house prices next — will there be a house price crash in the capital? Henry Pryor, an independent buying agent, believes that prices will move downwards far faster. 'If you think that house prices are going to be the same in the second half of 2020 as they were in the first quarter, that’s for those who believe in Father Christmas,' he says. 'Over the next six months, at all rungs of the housing ladder you will have more people who have to sell than have to buy.'"

"Certain parts of London will be harder hit than others. 'I wouldn’t want to be the owner of a shiny flat in a high-rise block strung out along the River Thames. I suspect that a flat that was once worth £1.5 million is today £900,000,' Pryor says."

From Enab Baladi on Syria. "Citizens of northern Homs countryside were unable to rehabilitate their destroyed houses; therefore, most of them offer their houses for sale, thus causing an oversupply in the property market. In an interview with Enab Baladi, Mazen Maarati, a resident of Kafr Laha town of al-Houla Plain, northern Homs countryside, said that his house was completely destroyed after a barrel bomb was dropped on it, in mid-2014."

"Maarati added, 'At that time, I sold the wreckage of my destroyed house to the crushers because I was unable to rebuild it, and I wanted to build a new house on my farm, which is a bit far from the city center. My house has been on the market for nearly three years, without a possible buyer,' said Maarati."

"Although house prices have increased significantly amidst the stagnant residential market in the region, they have not reached to match houses’ construction costs. The selling price of a house whose current construction cost is worth 15 million (SYP = 8,241 USD) does not exceed ten million (SYP = 5,494 USD)."

The South China Morning Post. "Hong Kong’s homebuyers came off the sidelines to nibble at more than 200 flats offered at two projects, as developers slashed prices to end nine consecutive weeks of sales flops. Sun Hung Kai Properties, the city’s most valuable developer, managed to sell 162 of 200 flats, or 80 per cent of units offered in the first batch of the second phase of its Wetland Seasons Park project in Tin Shui Wai after cutting prices by up to 18 per cent."

"The city’s property sales flopped for the sixth time in nine weeks last weekend, as investors find themselves spoilt for choices while the residential real estate market slumps under a combination of a supply glut and recessionary woes."

From ABC News in Australia. "Westpac has pledged to extend borrowers' interest-only periods after WA Senator Dean Smith criticised the industry for failing to support landlords, many of whom are self-funded retirees, who were struggling with higher repayments due to their loans switching to principal and interest. For Adelaide couple Dianne and Brian McShane, whose loans are with a different bank, Westpac's statement offered little hope."

"The self-funded retirees were already struggling with their loan repayments before coronavirus hit and now their tenants on the Gold Coast have had to break their lease due to the pandemic. Ms McShane, a former administrative assistant, and her husband, an ex-electrician, started investing in property 20 years ago to try to fund their retirement. They currently have three investment properties, two in Queensland and one in Western Australia."

"But instead of earning an income from them, the couple in their 60s are paying $9,000 a month to the bank to cover their loans, which switched from interest-only to principal and interest last year. Mr McShane said the couple were running out of funds and would ultimately be forced to sell in the falling housing market."

"'There will come a day when we are going to run out of money because we are paying all this principal and we'll have to sell everything, and we'll have nothing left,' he said. 'And we'll have to rely on the pension. And that's the reason why we invested in property — we didn't want to be a burden.'"

"Sydney investor Mike Scotland, a former school teacher, owes $1.1 million to the banks and is in a similar predicament. Mr Scotland has six investment properties and all the loans have switched to principal and interest. 'The rationale was that there is no way to gain wealth in Australia unless you invent a better mousetrap, win the lottery, have a brilliant business or maybe you do a bit of investment,' he said. 'People think property investors are multi-millionaires but probably about 40 per cent of them never make a profit. They're not rich, fat cats, they're just people trying to get ahead for the most part.'"

"He envisaged he would have to sell in eight or nine months' time, at a loss. 'So I'm heading towards a deadline, I'm heading towards a cliff,' he said."

From Stuff New Zealand. "Owners of holiday rentals are slashing their rates hoping to attract Kiwi guests while New Zealand's borders remain closed. Overnight stays in homes and rooms advertised on platforms such as Airbnb have fallen steeply in price as large numbers sit empty. Sarah Liddell lists a three-bedroom property on the site of her own Queenstown home on Airbnb, and manages listing for other owners. Airbnb bookings has 'just died' with the lockdown, Liddell said."

"Kelvin Davidson, senior property economist with CoreLogic, said Airbnb homes had popped up on the long-term rental market, and some owners were starting to inquire about selling. Davidson said it was too early to know whether to expect an increase in mortgagee sales. 'That's normally a last resort, and banks don't want it. But there'll be pressure on investors, especially if you own a business you have to shore up when the loan repayment holiday ends and the wage subsidy runs out.'"