A report from the Real Deal. "Big money will be deployed into cash-deprived real estate funds. 'We are seeing some investors that are pretty distressed, but if we compare it to previous crises it doesn’t seem to be as widespread,' said Goldman Sachs managing director Harold Hope."

From Bisnow New York City. "As local politicians gnash their teeth over the outbound migration of New York City’s wealthiest residents, the city’s hundreds of thousands of lower-income renters are still at risk of mass eviction with little concrete relief in sight. 'What we’re looking at is the possibility of a massive negative consolidation of the industry,' said Jay Martin, the executive director of the Community Housing Improvement Program. 'What many have speculated and what I believe is that there will be a period of tremendous pain, properties will go into foreclosure or they’ll be forced to sell before that.'"

The Puget Sound Business Journal on Washington. "Small commercial and nonprofit tenants in Seattle now will not face eviction through March 31, and residential tenants are protected through the end of September. The extensions come as anxiety rises among landlords. Rents are going unpaid, making it harder to pay mortgages. At the same time, tenants are leaving the city. Eagle Rock Ventures Managing Director Scott Shapiro said delinquencies are up dramatically among his 300 residential tenants in Ballard and Capitol Hill. People are leaving Capitol Hill, where civil unrest continues."

"The unit vacancy and delinquent payment rates of Shapiro's portfolio are in the double digits, and he's owed approximately $200,000 in back rent. The challenges are widespread, with Shapiro saying every small landlord he knows is in a similar situation. Landlords have been clamoring for financial relief for months. 'It's down to where you're often not breaking even on the mortgage,' he said."

The San Francisco Business Journal in California. "Landlords in San Francisco’s once flourishing apartment market are now experiencing the other side of the rental reality. Rents have dropped about 25% from this time last year, according to the San Francisco Apartment Association, and owners are having a hard time filling vacancies. 'Our issue is customers. My sense of this is that the tech industry has basically adjourned their offices until mid-summer,' Executive Director Janan New told me. 'Until those folks start moving back to the city for jobs, we’re looking at a pretty down market.'"

"Newer properties have especially been impacted by jobs leaving downtown San Francisco high-rises during the pandemic, she said, adding that some buildings in SoMa are running vacancy rates of about 30% to 40%. 'These are the hardest-hit properties because they are the closest to where the job losses have occurred,' she said."

"The average asking price for a one-bedroom is under $2,700 a month for the first time since 2012 and listing activity has increased, according to real estate tracker Socketsite. There are now more than three times as many apartments listed for rent in San Francisco than there were at the same time last year. '(Landlords) talk about how they are holding on and the market is decimated,' she said. 'There’s a great deal of anxiety and fear out there because people are operating on a margin.'"

The Los Angeles Times in California. "After more than three decades, Scott Fuller was fed up with living in California. The taxes are just too darn high, he said. The housing prices too. And so in June, the San Francisco Bay Area real estate broker, his wife and two kids packed their bags and moved to Arizona. Like Fuller, a lot of Californians are running for the exit. 'I never wanted to leave California,' said Fuller, 48, who has lived in the Golden State since 1983. 'It’s the most beautiful state with the best climate. I think the tipping point was continued tax increases and even more proposed tax increases…. I have absolutely no regrets.'"

"California’s population is now growing at its slowest rate in more than a century. The California Department of Finance, which monitors the state’s population data, found that from July 1, 2019 to July 1, 2020, California saw a net gain of only 21,200 new residents — a 0.05% growth rate not seen since 1900. As of July, the state’s population was 39.78 million. Over that period, Los Angeles County reported a net loss of 40,036 people, more than any other county in the state."

"'This is a real sea change in California, which used to be this state of pretty robust population growth,' said Hans Johnson, a demographer at the Public Policy Institute of California. 'It hasn’t been for some time now. But it’s now gotten to the point where the state is essentially not growing population-wise at all.'"

From Blog TO in Canada. "Last year at this time, real estate analysts were reporting an eight per cent year-over-year increase in average rent prices across the City of Toronto, causing tenants in rent-controlled pads to further tighten their grips on units that were perhaps too tiny, too crowded, and sometimes in dire need of repairs. Boy, how the tables have turned."

"The newly-published 2020 December National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research & Consulting indicates that the global coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on Toronto's rental market (for landlords, at least) with another steep dip in average prices recorded last month. Toronto rents were down a staggering 20 per cent, year-over-year, in November of 2020."

The South China Morning Post. "Danke, which is run by New York-listed Phoenix Tree Holdings, ran into financial problems and failed to pay landlords across China, leading to the cancellations of contracts with the firm and the sudden eviction of countless tenants."

"'Danke now requires landlords like ourselves to drive away tenants. Only if the tenants leave early can we lease [the flat] again,” said Long Xiao, a Guangzhou landlord who signed a five-year contract with Danke in July 2019 and let the company turn her three-bedroom flat into four units. 'The media and the public are just focusing on the suffering of new graduates, but what about the losses of landlords? We are also victims … but still have to pay the mortgage,' Long said."

The Wall Street Journal on Australia. "A year ago, a studio apartment in central Sydney was in such hot demand from foreign students and expat workers that landlords could often find a tenant within days. Adam van Rooijen’s inner-city apartment in Potts Point was recently vacant for six weeks. 'No one is really moving anywhere,' said Mr. van Rooijen, 37, who bought the investment property in April."

"Median rents in Potts Point, near Sydney’s harborside, are down 24% since March. Mr. van Rooijen tried engaging a real-estate agent and listing the property, alongside secondhand lawn mowers and coffee tables. He eventually accepted a 17% cut in rent to fill the property."

"Apartments are turning out to be the big losers in a pandemic-fueled reordering of the global property market. According to Redfin Corp. the average price discount for condos in the U.S. has widened to a record 17.3% this year. In Sydney and Melbourne, popular tourist cities that typically attract two-thirds of the country’s immigrants each year and have several large colleges, the rental falls have been much deeper."

"Julie Gleeson saw bookings from U.K. and New Zealand travelers for her one-bedroom apartment in Ultimo, a short train journey to tourist attractions including the Sydney Opera House, vanish when the borders closed. Rents in the area are down sharply, while the pandemic has driven up cleaning costs for short lets. 'From our point of view, it’s not worth renting,' said Ms. Gleeson, whose daughter is now staying in the property temporarily. 'It won’t be until we can have overseas visitors.'"

"Experts worry the divergent fortunes of markets for apartments and houses could restrain Australia’s recovery from its first recession in 29 years. Australia enjoyed a multiyear boom in home prices before the pandemic, making property owners feel wealthier and willing to spend more. Now, falling rents are hitting the incomes of landlords. A looming glut of apartments could also damp investment in construction, removing another growth engine."

"Looming over Australia’s apartment market are some 95,600 units that had already begun construction before the coronavirus crisis and are yet to come on to the market, raising concerns of a glut if borders don’t reopen soon. Most of the new units are in Sydney and Melbourne. Tim Lawless, CoreLogic’s head of Asia-Pacific research, expects a flood of distressed sales of inner-city apartments that will drive prices lower and could scare off investors. 'This will be one of the most risky markets around the country,' he said."