A report from the New York Post. "Moving trucks were out in force on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Saturday — leaving Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa practically tripping over them. 'The mass evacuation of Upper West Siders from NYC is in full effect,' Sliwa, who lives on W. 87th Street, lamented, blaming the city’s decision this summer to house hundreds of emotionally disturbed homeless and recovering addicts in neighborhood hotels."

"Stopping at each truck, he was told each was heading out of state. No sooner had Sliwa stepped out of his apartment building — where nine out of the 12 units are empty — than he saw the first moving truck of the morning. 'They told me, ‘Curtis, first the pandemic hit us and now the quality of life is so bad' Sliwa said. 'The woman was almost crying. They said they survived the ’70s,” as a young couple in the then-high crime neighborhood. 'But then in a month, in July, the neighborhood was destroyed.'"

"The fourth truck was at W. 75th and Central Park West. 'They were moving themselves down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,' Sliwa said. 'They said in the last month, there have been so many disturbed people in the streets, aggressively panhandling, defecating, urinating — they leave the hotels and have no bathrooms to use,' Sliwa said of the new homeless neighbors, who he believes are also victims. 'These are the people who elected de Blasio, who live here,' Sliwa said. 'It’s a progressive, liberal neighborhood. And now there’s a visceral hate here for him — the feeling that he has virtually singlehandedly destroyed this city.'"

The Bainbridge Island Review in Washington. "Home sales on Bainbridge Island have been strong, even through August, when they usually start to slow a bit. Sonja Jones of Sotheby’s said the riots in Seattle have something to do with it. 'There’s a push to get out of the city and into the suburbs,' she said. 'People want more rural, where it’s a little bit safer.'"

"The coronavirus itself also is playing a part. 'The island is low for COVID-19. It’s on your mind,' she said of the small number of cases here. There also a number of buyers in the Edmonds area. 'People don’t feel secure there anymore,' Jones said."

"Since COVID restrictions started March 25, 122 homes were listed and sold. 47 or 38%, sold above the original list pirice. 45 or 37% sold under list price. 30 or 25% sold at full price."

The Colorado Sun. "Six months into a pandemic that shut down restaurants and shops, and kept employees out of office buildings — and it’s impossible to ignore the similarities to the dead zone of four decades ago. The economic 'ecosystem' of downtown doesn’t work without people, and these days, there aren’t enough people to keep it going. The number of pedestrians along 16th Street Mall is about 25% of normal, according to a tech-based count by the Downtown Denver Partnership."

"By 3 p.m. on Thursday, only six customers had stopped by Obento, the ramen-bubble tea shop near 16th and California streets. That’s quite a difference from the good ol’ days earlier this year when about 50 people would filter in just during the lunch hour. 'It’s dead. But we have rent to pay,' said Owner Billy Enkh, who said that his landlord is working with him to help keep things going for both of them. 'There’s not enough business. But what do I do? Stay home? I can’t do that. Hopefully it picks up but I don’t think it’s going to anytime soon.'"

"Denver lawyers at Messner Reeves LLC began offering free legal help to struggling restaurants since the COVID outbreak began. A couple hundred have taken them up on the offer, said Valerie Bromley, a partner at Messner Reeves specializing in real estate. But, she added, landlords are stuck too. 'Some of them have been able to apply for federal funding, which doesn’t pay their tenants’ rent but helps them in other ways,' she said. 'But their hands are tied to some extent with their lenders because they still have to make loan payments and may not be getting any reprieve (from the bank) on those.'"

From Westword on Colorado. "Rents are definitely dropping around the city, according to the just-released September Denver rent report from Apartment List. In their comments responding to our recent rent story, readers make it clear they aren't impressed by the drop. Suggests Walter: 'Denver's not worth the 4-digit rent anymore.'"

"Concludes Chris: 'I don't think Denver is terrible myself, but after 22 years I recognize that I need to leave. This town's history has been one of phases and change since its earliest days. Denver is now turning into a difficult and expensive (to me) place to live. It's now a place for high-income earners and, I suppose, working people content to occupy a sharply defined and increasingly static niche. Well, okay, the new crowd and the old guard that happen to like the new evolving Denver are welcome to it.'"

The Real Deal on Florida. "Aria on the Bay may be the Melo Group’s signature project near Edgewater and the Arts & Entertainment District, where the developer has built most of its residential buildings in Miami. The 53-story luxury tower features units with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that offer expansive views of Biscayne Bay and downtown Miami’s skyline."

"Yet, two years after its completion, Aria on the Bay is allegedly dogged by a litany of construction defects, according to a recently filed lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. The building’s condo association is suing two of the Melo Group’s development affiliates, Arquitectonica and six firms that worked on the 648-unit project."

"The condo association’s lawsuit includes an 11-page report that identified 114 deficiencies. For instance, the parking garage at grade level is not connected to an accessible building entrance, and mailboxes were improperly installed and are not compliant with the American Disabilities Act. Other alleged examples of poor workmanship include defective elevators, cracked stucco and masonry walls at various locations throughout the building and loose glass panels in multiple units and in the lobby area."

The association alleges that it has expended and will continue to spend 'large sums of money' for repairs and maintenance which would have been unnecessary had Aria on the Bay been built according to Florida building code standards."

The Los Angeles Times in California. "The builders of a $1-billion project in downtown Los Angeles are betting that the city will revive and people will come together again in large numbers. Work on the Grand, a long-anticipated mixed-use complex designed by architect Frank Gehry has reached the halfway mark. Bunker Hill’s office buildings are mostly unoccupied, as are government offices and courtrooms in the nearby Civic Center. Art institutions steps away from the Grand are closed for the pandemic, including the Broad, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Music Center. Tourists who swoop by to get a selfie in front of Disney Hall have gone missing as fear of COVID-19 dampens leisure travel."

"The full-speed construction of the Grand stands in contrast to the idle cranes at Oceanwide Plaza, another downtown mixed-use development valued at more than $1 billion, where work stopped early last year as its Chinese developers apparently ran out of money."

"Many of downtown’s office buildings are nearly 90% empty at the moment, according to real estate brokers, and the percentage of space that is not leased may edge up to 20% before the pandemic is over, far above the amount that is considered healthy. Hotels also are suffering high vacancy rates. In June, the Singapore-based owner of the 73-story U.S. Bank Tower said it will sell the property for $430 million, a 34% discount from its pre-pandemic valuation as tenants in the building reduced or closed down their operations."

The San Francisco Chronicle in California. "Pinterest terminated a massive 490,000-square-foot lease at San Francisco’s unbuilt 88 Bluxome project, citing a shift toward more remote work amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company will instead continue leasing four existing San Francisco offices and pay a one-time fee of $89.5 million to cancel the Bluxome lease. The cancellation is the strongest sign yet of how the coronavirus is reducing the tech sector’s once-voracious appetite for office space."

"Numerous other companies have embraced an expansion of remote work and greater geographic diversity for their workforces. The trend is ominous for the Bay Area’s economy, which has received billions of dollars in taxes and real estate fees over the past decade related to new office projects, which were largely leased by tech companies."

The Nevada Independent. "Three years ago, Virginia and Donald Hartwig bought a ranch-style home in northwest Las Vegas for a dual purpose. First, it would serve as a rental property, supplementing their meager monthly income. Then, the couple would move from North Augusta, South Carolina, and make it their retirement haven. Virginia Hartwig, 79, considered it the perfect landing spot for multiple reasons. But their plan hit a major financial snag before the cross-country move could occur. After the pandemic erupted and Nevada implemented an eviction moratorium, their tenants abruptly stopped paying the monthly $1,550 rent and ceased communication with the property manager."

"'When they stopped paying, I was really shocked,' she said. 'They had good credit.'"

"As mom-and-pop landlords, the Hartwigs are among a group of people who say they’re being unfairly harmed by policies protecting tenants while leaving owners on a financial cliff. Some have fallen behind on mortgages or are chewing through their savings to keep afloat. And it’s unclear how soon they will secure any form of relief."

"One month became two and then three and, by the time Tuesday rolls around, the eviction moratorium will have been in place five months. And for those landlords with non-paying tenants, it has been a juggling act balancing lost rental income, mortgages for the properties, utilities, repairs and homeowner association fees. 'Now their financial health is starting to suffer considerably,' said Chris Bishop, president of Nevada REALTORS."

"Danielle Gallant, a managing partner with Guardian Realty Investment and Property Management in Henderson, warned that forbearance isn’t always helpful. It depends on the arrangement. If deferred payments are due within a matter of months — as opposed to tacked onto the end of the mortgage — it may not be enough time for landlord homeowners to gather the money."

"With the new tenant mediation program not even up and running yet, she’s not optimistic landlords will receive their owed money in any sort of swift timetable. 'I don’t think we have enough mediators to handle what’s coming down,' she said. 'I have a feeling it’s going to take even longer.'"

"Housing industry experts say all the uncertainty and financial tangles have left some mom-and-pop landlords wanting to walk away from the business and sell their properties when they are able to do so. Soaring housing prices may be spurring them along as well: The median price for single-family homes in Southern Nevada hit $330,000 last month, setting a record."

"'There’s no question that it has put in some concern with the investor,' Bishop with Nevada REALTORS said, referring to the eviction moratorium and non-paying tenants. 'They don’t want to be investors.'"

"That’s the case for Virginia Hartwig. She’s eagerly awaiting the lifting of the eviction moratorium. 'As soon as I am allowed to, I am going to give them notice to pay up the back rent or I’m going to terminate their lease for nonpayment of the rent,' she said. There’s no telling how long that process could take."