A report from Better Dwelling in Canada. "Earlier this year, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) warned first-time buyers that leaving just a 5% downpayment could be problematic. Now it appears that’s exactly what’s happening, with a typical condo buyer at 5% losing as much as a third of their downpayment in a month. Greater Toronto condo apartment buyers lost a significant chunk of change last month. The benchmark price of a condo apartment fell $9,600 in June."

"In the City of Toronto, the declines are a little more steep than the whole region. The benchmark price was $633,600 in May, and a 5% downpayment would be $31,680. The benchmark price fell $11,400 in June. In the City of Vancouver, the market of Vancouver West is where the biggest hits are being taken. The benchmark price of a condo apartment was $801,300 in May, and a 5% down payment would be $40,065. The benchmark fell $12,000 in June."

From BBC News on the UK. "MPs are calling on the government to step in and help more than 170,000 'mortgage prisoners' who are trapped on high interest rates. Melissa and Kevin have been paying £780 a month on their Northern Rock loan, compared to £420 or less if they could re-mortgage. But because they borrowed more than the value of the property, the regulators' affordability rules now say they can't re-mortgage."

"'Watching the widespread financial support during the current crisis has been a bitter pill to swallow. For many years we've been blamed for being ill-prepared and told that buying a mortgage is the risk you take,' Kevin says. 'Yet whilst we're asked to risk our lives and take risks with our families' health, making huge sacrifices, we continue to be financially exploited without any choice.'"

The Jakarta Post. "Business players in the hospitality sector in Bali, the country’s main tourism hub, have been prompted to sell property below market price, amid the massive hit to the island’s visits due to the pandemic, realtors and experts have stated. While the asking price for property in the hospitality sector, such as resorts, villas and hotels, has not budged since the outbreak began at the beginning of March, the owners have been more open to selling their property with up to 25 percent off market price, according to Paradise Property Group, a Bali-based resort and villa realtors firm."

"'Bali’s tourism slump has greatly affected both property leases and sales. Annual and monthly lease prices could drop up to 50 percent, while sales of property are also seeing more price concessions during negotiations,' the realtor firm's sales manager, Fransiska Annie, told The Jakarta Post."

The New Zealand Herald. "'Survival rates' on rental homes in Queenstown, emptied of tourists by the pandemic, have seen new rental contracts in the South Island settling almost 10 per cent lower than a year earlier. One Queenstown property manager who asked not to be named said current rental prices were 'not market rates, but survival rates,' as owners tried to set affordable prices while still being able to meet mortgage repayments. Property prices had felt invincible before Covid-19, but the pandemic revealed they were not, she told BusinessDesk."

"The lack of international tourism emptied out the city, said Kelvin Davidson, a property economist at CoreLogic, while homeowners who had once leased properties as short-term holiday homes - such as Airbnb - were now listing on the regular market. 'Most probably, the supply of property available to rent has gone up, so you've got a supply and demand factor going on,' he said."

The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. "One of ANZ Bank's most senior bankers says some borrowers who are unable to meet their mortgage payments will need to consider selling their properties in the coming months, warning it would not make sense to continue accruing interest. ANZ group executive of retail and commercial banking, Mark Hand said that while some business customers would manage, for others the emotional and financial strain might cause them to pull the pin."

"'Some of those customers, I think, will say ‘I just can’t see how I can trade my way out of this,’ and will be wise enough to cut their losses,' Mr Hand said."

The Australian Financial Review. "More than two in three rental apartments in the Melbourne CBD were sold for a loss during the March quarter, even before the virus hit, with experts forecasting further losses in the coming months as the city goes back into another lockdown. Overall, more than one in three sales (33.6 per cent) were sold at a loss in the Melbourne city area, with vendors losing a median value of $44,500 for each transaction."

"In Sydney, Burwood racked up the biggest portion of loss-making sales, with more than one in five (22.4 per cent) selling lower than purchase price. Despite potential losses, Melbourne vendor Tim Grimshaw auctioned his home earlier than planned amid worries the lockdown could further spook buyers."

"'Our auction was planned for this Saturday but our real estate agent suggested we should move it forward as he had seen the writing on the wall and anticipated what's going to happen,' Mr Grimshaw said. 'We're very happy with result, given the current climate. It feels like a big stress has been removed. I think it was the right call.'"