Two reports from the Globe and Mail in Canada. "The summer of economic recovery is fading away, replaced by a season of growing uncertainty as the weight of tens of billions of dollars in deferred debts bears down on consumers and businesses. Harsh decisions that have been postponed will have to be made, and the hardship will no longer be hypothetical. 'It’s an unemployment and people-getting-thrown-out-of-their-home problem,' says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, president Evan Siddall."

"Dan Kelly, CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, says he is 'absolutely'” certain that small-business bankruptcies will surge when the fiscal cushion provided by deferrals and subsidies disappears. In many cases, the arithmetic is already clear. 'The business owner knows they’re dead, they just haven’t had the funeral yet.'"

"Agents who work in the family-oriented neighbourhoods of uptown Toronto were already seeing a less hectic pace in the last week of August as the return to the classroom approached. Condo owners downtown, meanwhile, were watching the start of the school term for a different reason: The Coronavirus pandemic that closed borders and put classes online has also meant that many foreign postsecondary students have not returned."

"In downtown Toronto, agents are reporting that rents for condo units have fallen by 10 per cent or 15 per cent in recent months. In the Bay Street corridor popular with University of Toronto students, listings are swelling as units sit empty. The inventory of properties for sale is rising and, as the owners of vacant units lose out on rent, more of them are likely to become sellers, agents say. Buyers, meanwhile, figure they may get better deals if they hold off for a while."

"Richard Fournier, a real estate agent with Re/Max Hallmark Chay Realty Inc. in Barrie, Ont., has noticed that some patches of the Greater Golden Horseshoe are a bit more tepid now. West of Toronto in Burlington, for example, sales of properties with asking prices above $1.5-million have slowed significantly in the past two or three weeks, he says. Price cuts are becoming common and some listings in upscale areas are being cancelled and then relisted."

"Ksenia Bushmeneva, economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, says the high level of indebtedness in this country had the potential to greatly amplify the hit to the economy and slow the subsequent recovery. The economist cautions that federal government income support programs and the payment deferrals offered by financial institutions have been paramount in averting a delinquency tsunami and protecting household finances. As these support measures wane, risks to household finances still lie ahead."

The Financial Express on India. "The slowdown in demand, which got accentuated with the pandemic, has hit the real estate sector hard because of which residential properties have seen a decline in prices of up to 15% in the national capital region. While the Delhi market, which is largely a resale market as there are hardly any new projects, has seen a decline of 10-15%, the NCR, which comprises Noida, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad, may not have seen much decline in quoted prices, but for serious buyers the drop is almost in the same range."

"Bhushan Kapur, a real estate consultant in Mayur Vihar, said, 'Prices corrected around 10% on an average, but there are specific cases where discount was higher. It depends on how the property is developed or is in a dispute, etc. For instance, in east Delhi, some distress sale happened in Laxmi Nagar where the discount was about 20%,' he added."

From Domain News in Australia. "Victorian landlords struggling to fill vacant rental properties say they face difficult financial positions or homelessness if they cannot collect rent on their investments. Hoppers Crossing landlords Olya Mancuso and Igor Propenko had been unable to fill their newly built rental through the stage four lockdown, leaving them to survive on Mr Propenko’s JobKeeper allowance alone while paying two mortgages. Their bank allowed a 50 per cent discount on their mortgage payments, which still left them in a difficult financial situation during the lockdown."

"Although they now have a tenant, they fear the reduction of JobKeeper and the possibility of their renter not paying rent. 'It is very callous and unjust,' Ms Manscuso said. 'Maybe if it was two of us it would be OK, but it is our three children as well. For some people, [JobKeeper] is a pitiful pittance that only covers mortgages and food. I’m scared. We might end up homeless. I’m very worried because [reduced JobKeeper] won’t be enough to cover expenses.'"

"Landlords also face the prospect of falling rent prices. Melbourne apartment rents fell for the first time in 15 years in the June quarter, falling 3.5 per cent in three months to a median $415 a week, on Domain data. House rents lost 2.3 per cent to a median $430. The inner city was hardest hit, with inner Melbourne apartment rents dropping 7.2 per cent in three months to a median $450."

"AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said it was possible for landlords to become homeless if they default on their mortgages. 'Some landlords are running at a lot of risk here,' he said. 'Especially if their family home is connected to the debt of the investment property.'"