A report from CTV News in Canada. "Vancouver rents have been falling since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, and are down by as much as 15 per cent for some types of apartments, according to data pulled from Craigslist. David Hutniak, the CEO of LandlordBC, is now lobbying for the B.C. government to bring a moratorium on evictions, to an end. He said landlords, especially smaller 'mom and pop' landlords, are suffering financially because some tenants aren't paying their rent, and there’s no legal recourse left to landlords who are renting to tenants who refuse to pay."

The Winnipeg Free Press in Canada. "According to the CMHC, seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in May were 3,335 in Manitoba compared to 6,320 in April. From April to May, the 47 per cent drop in starts in Manitoba was the largest in the country. Heather Bowyer, CMHC’s senior market analyst for Manitoba, also blamed the large percentage decline in Manitoba on the fact that the market has been dealing with an overbuilt condo market for some time. 'One caveat to this is that condos have seen a bit of a downward trend in new construction over the last little while anyway. We have seen a lot of overbuilding in that market segment,' she said."

From Dutch News. "While the average price for a non-rent controlled property is €1,230, in Amsterdam the figure is €1,700. However, this is down from the €1,800 peak registered a year ago. In Amsterdam, supply has increased because landlords who usually rent out property via holiday agencies like Airbnb are now turning to long-term rentals as tourism dries up."

The Edge Malaysia. "Sleepless nights – that would best describe the mental state of Alex, a property investor, these past few months. He had been optimistic about three years ago when he bought several properties on the advice of a 'property guru.' Property prices will go up, you can enjoy bulk discounts and benefit from the rebates now, he was told. The good days have come to an end and the promises have turned into a nightmare. He is but one of many individuals going through such a situation."

"'Many developers have offered all sorts of freebies, including DIBS (developer interest bearing scheme), free furniture and fittings, and cash back,' says Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd real estate agency CEO Siva Shanker. 'In fact, cash back is a prevalent trend now, where, in some cases, a purchaser can get back more than RM100,000 in cash when buying a property.'"

"This will enable people who don’t have money to buy properties based on pure speculation, he cautions. 'Most of all, these so-called property gurus have no credibility and they have done it in a way that is nothing more than a skim cepat kaya or Ponzi scheme,' he adds."

The Daily Telegraph in Australia. "Rental properties in the Sydney CBD continued to empty last month. Close to one in six rentals – 16.2 per cent – were vacant in May, more than double the vacancies recorded at this time last year, SQM Research figures showed. Higher inner Sydney vacancies were the result of a decline in international student numbers, Airbnb rentals becoming available on longer term leases, and many hospitality workers moving back in with parents."

"A similar trend was observed in the inner suburbs of other major capital cities: 13.3 per cent of Brisbane CBD rentals were vacant last month, while in the Melbourne CBD it was 9.3 per cent. Nic Fren recently moved into a new apartment in Rushcutters Bay and said he was 'very happy' with the price. 'I was picky with properties. This place was just perfect,' he said. 'You know something is up when agents start phoning you about available properties. They never did that before.'"

The Australian Financial Review. "Soaring vacancies and widespread rental discounting have squeezed investors' cash flows to the extent that almost two in every five landlords are in a position of financial stress. Competition for tenants has further intensified as short-stay landlords switched properties into the long-term rental market, leading to situation in which the owners of 820,000 rental properties were stressed and an additional 123,000 were 'severely' stressed, analysis by Digital Finance Analytics for The Australian Financial Review shows."

"'We're now being forced to cut our rents by at least $100 per week,' said Brisbane-based investor Lisa Liang. 'One of the three international students renting my South Bank apartment went back to China and now she couldn't return. The remaining tenants could not afford the rent so my property manager told us to cut our rents.'"

"It is putting Ms Liang's investments at risk. 'But we're paying $6500 in body corporate fees each year on top of everything else, so if I'm getting less rent and still paying all these costs, then it's going to be difficult to hold this rental,' she said."

"Ms Liang said she wanted to sell her South Bank apartment, but could not because it had already shed $20,000 in value since she purchased it in 2014. 'I'm happy to sell it for the same amount I paid back then, and even take a small loss, but I'm not confident I can find a buyer in today's market.' Another apartment she bought in Hamilton six years ago had lost $100,000 in value, she said. 'So given all these issues, I will not invest in apartments ever again. I'd be lucky if I get back the $1 million I paid for these two apartments.'"

The South China Morning Post. "The number of foreclosed properties in Hong Kong could reach the highest level since the global financial crisis early next year, as owners struggle to repay mortgages amid a recession-hit economy that has taken a toll on businesses and pushed the unemployment rate to the highest in more than 15 years."

"'The number of foreclosed properties will surge next year to [between] 1,000 and 2,000,' said Henry Choi, a director at property auctioneer Century 21 Surveyors, comparing the situation in 2009 when a downturn induced by the global financial crisis led to 3,600 foreclosures. 'It is expected that the unemployment rate will rise and next year’s economy may be way [worse] than this year. The chain of business [activity] has been broken, with small and even [big] companies on the brink of survival.'"

"There were 94 foreclosed properties on the market this month versus 56 in June last year, and almost four times higher than the 19 recorded in the same month in 2018, according to Century 21 data. Peter Au, managing director at AA Property Auctioneers, said he expects foreclosures to rise because of the poor economic conditions. AA will auction 39 properties next Tuesday."

"He also said that there has been a 10 to 15 per cent jump year-on-year in the number of properties that homeowners have commissioned to auctioneers. These customers, he said, were looking to offload their property for a number of reasons, including emigration, liquidity problems and a pessimistic market outlook."

"'In the past year, social sentiment has not been very good, followed by the pandemic,' said Au. 'Now, nearly 10 out of about 30 properties on auction are commissioned by homeowners.'"