A report from Inman News. "Delinquency rates across the United States soared in April — a change caused by the coronavirus outbreak that, experts warn, could spell trouble for months to come. According to CoreLogic, 6.1 percent of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency in April. The rise, a 2.5 percent increase from the month before. The month presented several alarming mortgage trends all at once. The number of homeowners that went from being up-to-date on their mortgages to being 30 days late rose by 3.4 percent — the highest increase since 1999."

"New York and New Jersey saw the highest state increases in delinquency rates at 4.7 and 4.6 percent while cities like Miami and Kahului, Hawaii, saw even larger spikes."

From Housing Wire. "HousingWire sat down with Hubzu Vice President of Auctions Travis Britsch to discuss how COVID-19 may change the foreclosure auction landscape. HW: In what ways do you think COVID-19 will change the foreclosure auction landscape?"

"TB: These moratoriums were recently extended again until at least the end of August and while theoretically they may save some borrowers from being foreclosed upon, we do anticipate that there will eventually be a surge in foreclosure volume. The continued extension of the moratoriums will add to the overall backlog of inventory, and the longer that backlog grows, the longer the recovery time will be for the housing market and mortgage industry."

From Macomb Daily in Michigan. "Matthew Paletz, a Troy-based attorney who represents landlords across the state, said landlords, as small business owners, have also been hit hard by the pandemic and the resulting executive order allowing tenants to remain in their homes, despite not having to pay rent. Many depend on those monthly rent payments to pay off mortgages and other bills. Paltez said for small family-owned landlords who operate on thin margins, this relief from the state may be too little, too late. He added judges will not simply be throwing people 'out on the streets' once the eviction ban expires and the courts begin processing any potential eviction filings."

"'They were already in dire straits back in the spring,' he said. 'To now have to wait even longer, if they opt-in to the eviction diversion program, is simply not practical. Being precluded from their legal remedies for what could amount to four months or more may be too long of a time without significant revenue for them to stay current with their underlying mortgages, utilities, payroll, and property taxes, not to mention the cost of maintenance and upkeep of the property.'"

The Colorado Real Estate Journal. "Vacancy increased by 21 basis points during the second quarter to 6.42% in contrast to the historic vacancy decreases typically seen in the months leading up to summer – a clear demonstration that the pandemic has had an effect on the metro Denver rental market, according to Apartment Insights’ Statistics Trends Summary. The report on the second-quarter multifamily market noted that the current vacancy rate is 119 bps higher than 12 months ago and 124 bps higher than two years ago. It is the highest quarterly vacancy rate in 10 years and reflects stabilized properties with 50 or more units in the seven-county region."

"Also increasing this quarter was the overall vacancy rate, which includes both stabilized properties and properties in lease-up. While it moved up 48 bps to 10.27%, it is still below the recent high of 10.59% reached during the second quarter of 2019. Apartment Insights noted that quarterly absorption decreased to a positive 852 units – the lowest level in three years and less than one-fourth the year-ago figure, which was the third highest on record. The quarterly decrease reduced the trailing 12-month total absorption to 7,151 units, the slowest pace since 2017."

"'The pandemic seems to have shifted renter preferences, at the margin anyway, away from living in the urban core. The effect on rents and concessions in the core submarkets was significant. Despite national statistics about collections being very similar to previous months and to the previous year, the local rental market clearly has been adversely impacted by the pandemic. We will be watching very closely in the months ahead to see if this trend continues, or if the rental market stabilizes,' the report concluded."

From Community Impact on Texas. "The construction industry was deemed an essential service by Gov. Greg Abbott in his March executive order, allowing almost 23 projects worth well over $1.8 billion in the Heights-River Oaks-Montrose area to continue. The catch: Most of these are Class A properties—priced for the high end of the market and banking on tenant salaries of $75,000 or more to make rent—and they are all slated to open in a post-COVID-19 economy that is officially in a recession and in an oil slump."

"'It’s not a good place to be,' said Bruce McClenny of ApartmentData. 'Filling 21,000 new units in 12 months like you see in a big wave of construction in Houston is a challenge even for the best economies.' Across the Houston Metro area, new properties that opened in the past 12 months were only about 25% occupied as of May, and overall occupancy rates dropped below 89%."

The Beacon Journal in Ohio. "A downtown Akron off-campus student housing complex may soon get a new lease on life by being converted into regular apartments. An Alabama-based real estate development company that specializes nationally in off-campus student housing plans to buy the struggling 22 Exchange complex and change its business model. Declining enrollment at the University of Akron means the original 22 Exchange business model — renting to students with ground-level storefront retailers — no longer appears viable there, the prospective buyer says."

The Bay Area Newsgroup in California. "Prices for one-bedrooms in techie hives near major Silicon Valley companies have plummeted from last July: San Francisco fell 11.8 percent, Mountain View dropped 15.1 percent, Menlo Park fell 13.5 percent, San Jose slid 8 percent, and Cupertino 15.7 percent, according to Zumper. Economists doubt lifestyle changes are the only reason behind plummeting prices."

"Two other big forces have changed the supply-and-demand equation in the housing-short Bay Area: owners of short-term rentals, including Airbnb vacation stops and furnished corporate housing, are now listing those units as long-term rentals, adding new supply. And surveys and interviews suggest many renters are taking shelter-in-place seriously and extending their leases rather than risking a move, quelling demand. The increased supply and falling demand have pushed down prices."

The San Francisco Chronicle in California. "Median condo prices have dropped 4% from June 2019, dipping from $1.25 million to $1.195 million, according to Patrick Carlisle, chief market analyst for Compass. The second quarter saw 389 condos close, a 57.7% decline from the second quarter of 2019, and 504 units put into contract, a decline of 42.3%, according to Vanguard, another brokerage. The new challenges come as San Francisco has more new condo buildings opening than any year since the 2007-09 recession. Currently, 842 new condo units are on the market, and 637 resales, about a 61% increase over 2019."

"The greatest weakness in terms of pricing and sales volume has been in the downtown and South of Market neighborhoods that have the highest number of new buildings coming online, according to Carlisle. 'Everything that everybody loves about the city is closed right now and people are thinking, ‘Maybe I should move somewhere where I have a little elbow room,’ said Carlisle. 'Areas where many buyers are younger high-tech people have struggled.'"

"Realtor Gregg Lynn, who specializes in high-end condos, said the north side of the city has been holding up better than the downtown, which has seen an increase in homeless encampments. He said luxury buildings will likely have to slash prices to stay competitive. 'You are selling into a market with small pool of affluent buyers and a lot of competition for those buyers,' he added."

From Mansion Global on New York. "Twelve luxury homes—priced at $4 million and up—went into contract last week, according to the weekly Olshan Realty report on high-end Manhattan real estate. The second-priciest home to find a buyer last week was a four-bedroom condominium on the Upper West Side asking just under $13 million. The price was reduced from $17.25 million when it was listed in 2018. The seller paid $15.95 million for the apartment in 2008, according to Olshan."

The New York Post. "Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has sold his New York City townhouse for a loss. Records filed Monday with the city’s department of Finance show that Hughes sold his property at 157 W. 12th St. for $19.5 million. Hughes, 36, and his political activist husband Sean Eldridge, 33, purchased the Greenwich Village home for $22.3 million in 2015, records also show. That means they sold it for $2.8 million less than they paid."