A report from the San Francisco Chronicle in California. "The cost of renting an apartment in the Bay Area plummeted in May, as layoffs and the increased flexibility of working from home drove a double-digit drop in some of the nation’s most expensive housing markets. Rents for a one-bedroom apartment dropped most in the cities richest in high-paying tech jobs, falling 9.4% in San Francisco compared with May of 2019. In Mountain View, home to Google, rents fell 15.9% year over year, while in Apple’s hometown of Cupertino rents dipped 14.3%, according to the rental search engine Zumper. In San Bruno rents tumbled 14.9%."

"'It’s a dramatic drop in San Francisco and the South Bay,' said Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades. 'This is real. We have never seen anything like it.' While rents are down across the country, the drop was more severe in high-priced coastal cities that over the past decade have been most attractive to tech entrepreneurs and their investors, Georgiades said."

"Georgiades said there has long been an unsupported myth that Bay Area residents are leaving the city in droves because of high cost of living, steep taxes, snarled traffic and homeless issues. It was a narrative that was not supported by the facts, he said — until now. 'I’ve lived in the Bay Area for eight years and I’ve heard that story for eight years,' he said. 'This is the first time ever the narrative is actually real.'"

The Dallas Morning News in Texas. "Rents are flat in many of Dallas’ surrounding suburban areas. And on a month-to-month comparison, rents in Dallas have declined slight during each of the last two months, according to ApartmentList. Apartment rents have declined slightly from a year ago in previously hot markets including San Francisco, Portland, Los Angeles and Boston. Apartment analysts warn that the industry could face declining rent payments as unemployment caused by the pandemic grows and federal support is scheduled to expire for unemployed workers in July."

The Las Vegas Sun in Nevada. "Demand for houses has remained robust through the first months of the coronavirus crisis, with bidding wars on many properties, some Las Vegas area real estate agents say. But with the tourism industry upended and unemployment at a record 28.2%, some experts are questioning how long that can continue."

"'Regardless of what’s happening in the physical market, the lenders are tightening the screws and the number of qualified buyers is really, really small,' said Vivek Sah, director of the Lied Institute of Real Estate Studies at UNLV. 'I feel that the market is going to shift to a buyer’s market over a period of time.'"

"Sah said he thinks the shift toward a buyer’s market is already underway. 'People are just looking at the number of listings and saying there’s less supply and, yes, that’s correct, but what is the demand?' Sah said. 'The question is who is buying?'"

"Las Vegas Realtors reported the sale of pre-owned homes in April dropped 31 percent from the same month in 2019. The sale of condominiums and townhouse was down 42%. The median price of a house — $310,000 — was also down 2.8% from the previous month, while the median price of a condo or townhouse — $180,000 — was down 3%, according to the real estate group. 'We’re starting to see how this crisis is hitting our housing market,' said Tom Blanchard, president of Las Vegas Realtors."

The Los Angeles Times on Georgia. "Jason Heyward hasn’t played for the Braves since 2014, but he’s still wrapping up some business in Atlanta. The All-Star outfielder just put his home on the north side of the city up for sale at $2.8 million, records show. He bought the property in 2014 after inking a two-year deal with the Braves but was traded to the Cardinals shortly after with one year left on his contract. It’s not the first time he’s tried to sell the place; he floated it for sale at $3.25 million in 2016 and trimmed the price to $3 million a few months later, but eventually took it off the market."

The Alabama News Center. "According to the Baldwin Realtors, April condominium sales decreased 51.8% year-over-year from 164 to 79 closed transactions. Going against seasonal trends, April sales decreased 47.7% from March. Sales are down 11.6%% year-to-date, and future demand is likely to soften because of the growing economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic."

"Months of supply increased from 4.6 months to 9.4, reflecting a shift toward a buyer’s market in the area. The Baldwin County condo median sales price in April was $295,000, a decrease of 15.1% from one year ago and a decrease of 16.9% from March."

The Aspen Daily News in Colorado. "Operators of Pitkin County’s many unique lodging options are evaluating what a May 27 public health order permitting short-term stays means for them. As long as they have submitted their guidelines, and are keeping occupancy below 50%, Aspen’s many short-term rental options are all now allowed, including hotels, lodges, motels, developed campgrounds, bed and breakfasts, condo-hotels, Airbnb, VRBO and retreats. The only short-term lodging that remains banned in the county are privately managed rental units."

"City councilmember Skippy Mesirow is the managing director of Sky Run Aspen property management. He said unlike restaurants, which could still operate to-go menus, or retail which could pivot to online sales, the lodging industry had no other option but to go completely dark. 'It was a complete hit. We were mandated zero revenue by the government,' Mesirow said."

"There are more than 1,000 units available for booking through rent-by-owner websites within Aspen city limits. Just 50 of them have filed for their free permit with the city. As the liaison to the lodging sector, Councilmember Ward Hauenstein has checked in with operators, who have reopened this week. Anecdotally, most of the current guests are from out of state, and planning on longer stays."

"'People that are open now are losing money. Most people will say it’s about 35% occupancy to break even, and nobody is anywhere close to that,' Hauenstein said."