It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "About one million homeowners have fallen through the safety net Congress set up early in the coronavirus pandemic to protect borrowers from losing their homes, according to industry data. About 1.06 million borrowers are past due by at least 30 days on their mortgages and not in a forbearance program, according to Black Knight. Susan Mclaren Shiflett got a forbearance this summer after her work hours were cut at a retailer in Wenatchee, Wash. But she was thrown for a loop when her servicer, Guild Mortgage Co., still sent her warnings that she was past due on her mortgage and that she was at risk of foreclosure."

"She said a company representative told her the letters were required by law. Even so, she said: 'It’s just scary every time they send a letter of being delinquent. I’m doing everything I’m supposed to do.'"

"'Housing markets can run hot and cold, with a particular area seeing demand change over time,' the GoBankingRates study’s author Joel Anderson explained. '[…] If you have to move for a job or your family, discovering that the housing market has gone down the tubes and you’re facing a long wait to sell at a lower price than you would like can seriously hurt your plans.'"

"Four out of the ten cities most likely to struggle in the near future are in California. An average home in Redwood, which is part of the pricy Bay Area, is worth a jaw-dropping $1,677,126, but home prices fell 1.04 percent in one year and 5.2 percent in two years. One in every 6,529 homes is foreclosed. 'Like the other high-priced California entries, it’s hard to make the argument you’re treating that as an investment at that price as home values appear to be reversing direction after years of growth,' wrote Anderson."

"'Even San Francisco can’t match the the median home price of San Mateo, north of $1.5 million,' wrote Anderson. 'But once again, this market appears to have reversed direction with home values losing over 6 percent in the last 24 months.' While home values in the northern Californian city of Santa Rosa are high (an average of $608,752), the city is grappling with a serious foreclosure crisis — one in every 3,893 homes is foreclosed. Home values, meanwhile, fell 4.82 percent in two years. 'Santa Rosa is experiencing unusually large issues with foreclosures right now,' Anderson wrote."

"Pacific Realty designated broker Leslie Brophy expects the number of homes on the market to be on the upswing again over the next year or so, due to an expected rise of foreclosed homes as a result of the economic downturn from the pandemic. She warned potential sellers that foreclosures, when they come, will drive market prices down from their current highs, and said now rather than later is the time to get your house on the market."

"'There’s nothing quite as nice as a well taken care of home, it doesn’t really compete with a foreclosure, but people always bargain hunt. I would say now is a better time than it’s probably going to be a year from now, for sure — if you’re selling,' Brophy said."

"'The million-dollar question is, where is all this going? Will it stop or not,' said Jeff Keehfuss, broker/owner at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Western Colorado Properties. 'If median price outpaces what the average household income is, unless they have enough money, you’ll only have so many people that will move here that will pay the higher prices.' Keehfuss is hopeful that this is a situation where the market doesn’t completely stall all at once and anticipates that 'something has to give here pretty soon.'"

"Despite the industry’s steady rise since 2012 and the busy market, for Keehfuss, there’s concern that the recent trend and the industry could be headed in a different direction. 'Like anything, what comes up must go down,' Keehfuss said."

"Welcome to the start of what could prove to be an urban exodus, in favor of the city’s picturesque hinterlands, including the outdoor sports meccas of Hood River and Skamania Counties. On the flip side, the hard-hit urban condo market—who wants to be in an elevator right now?—is in oversupply. Though things rebounded a little by July, in May there were only about 150 closed condo sales citywide for the entire month, roughly half the number in May 2019, against more than 700 active listings."

"On July 30, Chesapeake Beach issued a notice to its residents, reminding them that short-term rentals were not permitted in the town. That notice caught resident Josh Johnson off guard. He has been renting out two homes on Airbnb for about a year-and-a-half and says a lot of neighbors are, too. Kelly Schaefer is a single mother of three children. She owns a cleaning company called Quality Clean and says she’s losing up to $2,000 a month in business without the short-term rentals. 'I have to decide, do I take the cut in pay myself or do I release some of my employees?' Schaefer said."

"'Well it’s going to put us in a situation where we’re going to have to sell our house,' Johnson said. 'And it’s ultimately going to put us in a situation where we’re going to have to understand if this is a place for us.'"

"Canada’s housing agency said there could be a 'significant increase' in mortgage delinquencies later this year as banks’ loan deferrals during the COVID-19 pandemic end and alternative lenders deal with more troubled borrowers. Mortgage Investment Corporations (MICs), which are alternative lenders that pool investor funds to provide loans, were already seeing a rise in delinquency rates before the pandemic struck in March. Among the 25 largest MICs, the share of second and third mortgages in their portfolios increased to 22 per cent last year from 12 per cent in 2017. Those loans are considered more vulnerable than first mortgages because if a borrower defaults, the original loan will get paid before the second and third."

"At the same time, the MICs' average loan-to-value ratio has increased incrementally, which means there is a greater chance of the property being worth less than loans if property prices decrease. Since mid-March, some MICs have dealt with more homeowners who have lost income and cannot make their mortgage payments, and more investors who want to take their money out of funds. Some MICs have prevented their investors from withdrawing."

"Real estate in Singapore's central region was disproportionately affected during the height of the pandemic, as prices dropped by almost 14 per cent between February and July, compared to the overall market's 7 per cent price decline. Raffles Place, Cecil and Marina ended up with a 12 per cent drop in price per square foot at the height of the circuit breaker measures in April 2020. However, Singapore wasn't the only city whose real estate markets felt the impact of the Coronavirus. New York City, which was the epicentre of Covid-19 back in April, experienced similar real estate trends. Manhattan has seen a significant 10.20 per cent decline in pricing."

"Centaline Property Agency recorded 14 secondary transactions at 10 blue-chip housing estates over the past weekend, down by 33 percent week-on-week.In Kwun Tong, a 517-sq-ft flat at Laguna City changed hands for HK$7.6 million, or HK$14,700 per sq ft, after HK$400,000 or 5 percent was cut from the original asking price while in Hung Hom, an 853-sq-ft flat at Whampoa Garden sold for HK$14.68 million, or HK$17,210 per sq ft, after HK$1.32 million was slashed from the asking price. And in Tin Shui Wai, a 635-sq-ft flat at Kingswood Villas fetched HK$6.38 million, or HK$10,047 per sq ft, after HK$610,000 was slashed from the asking price."

"Parramatta, Mascot and Rouse Hill in the northwest have topped a list of Sydney suburbs 'oversupplied' with apartments. These suburbs each have more than 1500 units in the pipeline over the next two years, which will increase the current supply of apartments by 13 per cent or more. A similar situation was unfolding in Gosford on the Central Coast, where close to 1900 units were set to be built, which would increase unit supply by 73 per cent."

"The oversupply in these areas has raised the risk of dangerous price reductions for buyers of units sold off the plan, according to RiskWise research. Buyer’s agent Rich Harvey said buying new apartments in outer suburban areas like Rouse Hill made no sense. As an example, Mr Harvey said someone who bought a unit for $650,000 but discovered it was only worth $585,000 when it came time to settle the property would have to stump up the difference – in this instance: $65,000. 'This could be a serious problem for some cash-strapped buyers,' he said."

"A survey found most people who became homeowners during the coronavirus pandemic are regretting their purchase decision. LendEDU found that the biggest reason for pandemic home-buying regret was financial reasons. It says out of 1,000 new American homeowners, more than half regret the pandemic purchase. Thomas Blanchard, of Las Vegas Realtors, says there’s a domino effect that keeps the Las Vegas market successful. 'They had to sell their house wherever they were, and somebody from somewhere else had to sell their house to be able to buy that house,' Blanchard said."

"The study also found 26% of those who regretted a home purchase have refinanced their mortgage."