A report from TRNTO in Canada. "According to Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the number of condo rental units on the market in the second quarter was up 42 per cent compared to the same period last year. Prices in rental condos have gone down by around five per cent in the second quarter compared to last year. Realtor Jamie Dempster expects more units to hit the market since some may have trouble renting out their units during the pandemic due to less demand and a need for lower prices."

"This was evident in one Yorkville condo that was known for heavy Airbnb activity. The building saw nearly 100 units hit the market either for sale, or for long-term rentals."

The Vancouver Sun in Canada. "You can be forgiven for feeling perplexed about what’s happening to Metro Vancouver’s real-estate market. The spin coming from the real-estate industry is bewildering — with some realtors saying the numbers are 'record setting' and prices are '20 per cent higher year over year.' Alas, the hype from certain segments of the industry confirms why polls show the public generally has a low opinion of realtors."

"Condos in the city core are not selling particularly well. Stephen Punwasi, a prominent Canadian market analys, recently said, 'Greater Vancouver real-estate sales are returning to pre-pandemic levels, but prices are still falling' compared to their overall peak a couple of years earlier. Despite the slight June-July upturn in sales of detached homes in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, the volume of sales is still almost half what it was in 2016. And the average price for a detached home in July in the north of the Fraser parts of Metro was about $1.6 million. That’s below the peak of $1.83 million three and four years ago."

"The luxury single-family market is not what it was either. In many neighbourhoods of West Vancouver, for instance, where typical home prices of $4 million to $7 million were until recently driven largely by buyers with offshore capital, assessed values have fallen on average by one third in the past two years. Across Metro Vancouver, data shows June and July sales are somewhat higher than last year’s levels. 'But despite the increase,' Punwasi said, 'new listings are hitting the market at such a rapid pace, prices are actually falling further from the peak.'"

From BRNO Daily. "Since the pandemic hit, however, news outlet CT24 reports that real estate agencies and brokerage portals have noticed a fall in rents, mostly in Prague and Central Bohemia. With rents falling by up to 20%, the increasing demand for rental properties seems understandable. Rents have nosedived in particular in locations near popular tourist spots, long dominated by short-term tenants, especially in Prague. CT24 gave the example of a 50m2 apartment in Prague with views of both Tyn Church and St. James Church, which was listed for CZK 20,000, including bills. At the beginning of the year, the rent would probably not have been less than CZK 25,000."

From News.com.au in Australia. "Property prices across most major Australian cities have plunged for the third month in a row. Newly listed properties are up 46 per cent compared to the lows experienced in early May. According to CoreLogic, rental rates have continued to trend lower, with Hobart, Sydney and Melbourne having the weakest rental conditions."

"'Some inner city areas of Melbourne and Sydney have seen rental listings more than double since March due to the combined effect of temporary migrants departing, and overseas arrivals, including foreign students stalling,' said CoreLogic’s head of research, Tim Lawless. 'Compounding this weak demand position is the surge in construction activity and investment over previous years, which has added to inner city rental supply.'"

The Wall Street Journal. "Australia’s resilience in past economic crises owed much to an open-door immigration policy that drew skilled workers to its cities, students to its colleges and manual labor to its fields. By forcing the closure of national borders, the coronavirus pandemic has kicked that pillar away. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia could add as few as 36,000 people from net immigration in the 12 months through June 2021—the government’s fiscal year—under arrangements that only allow Australians and permanent residents stranded overseas to return home."

"That compares with a forecast of 168,000 net immigrants in the year that just ended June 30—itself choked by a period of border shutdown—and 239,600 in the 12 months before that. 'This is a huge hit,' said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital. If this occurs, the country’s population growth in the 12 months through June 2021 would be just 0.7%, the lowest since 1917, he said."

"Roman Pazniewski, a 63-year-old home builder and renovator in northern Sydney’s upmarket beachside suburbs, has seen his work pipeline shrivel to just one job, well short of the five to six commitments needed to break even. 'The outlook is grim,' said Mr. Pazniewski, who recently laid off half of his staff."

The New Straight Times on Malaysia. "The current economic landscape presents an opportunity for investors to get good bargains and discounted properties prices under current situation exacerbated by the sellers. MyProperty Data Sdn Bhd (MPD) chief executive officer Thor Joe Hock said it was now biased to buyers' market as they can put their prices instead of the sellers."

"'Currently, this is the buyer's market as supply exceeds demand, giving buyers an advantage over sellers in price negotiation. Price has been stagnant and falling in the past few years, particularly in the residential segment across the board. However, in prime locations, we do not see price growth and often price fall in the outskirt,' he said."

From Reuters. "Some Hong Kong foreclosed homes have been recently sold at steep discounts, adding to signs that the world's most expensive housing market could be heading for price declines both this year and next. Foreclosures in the Asian financial hub jumped 54% in the first seven months of the year to 675, according to property auctioneer Century 21 Surveyors."

"Both speculative investors and ordinary people are walking away from their mortgages, financing companies and auctioneers told Reuters. Some warn foreclosures could surge next year to their highest levels since the global financial crisis. Two foreclosed properties belonging to a mainland Chinese investor recently sold at discounts of 25% and 12% to their respective purchase prices of around HK$30 million ($3.9 million) and HK$20 million, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter."

"Henry Choi, a director at Century 21 Surveyors, also said his company has had three recent cases where banks put auctions on hold after deciding to go back to court to ask for a lower base price. 'The original valuations were too optimistic and they would be hard to sell now in this market,' he said."

"Anticipating lower prices ahead, lenders have also become super keen to offload properties as fast as possible. 'Normally we'd sell through property agents because transaction prices from auctions are too low, but now we want to get rid of the mess quickly so if agents can't sell a property in two months, we put it up for auction,' said the chairman of a finance company, also declining to be identified."