It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Gary Yard is a 56-year-old West Springfield homeowner facing foreclosure. When he and his wife took out a second mortgage on their three-family home in 2010, their interest rate jumped from 7.9% to 14.9% within the span of a few years. He added, 'I’m stressing on how can I pay my bills? How can I pay my electricity; my water? How can I afford the other things that we need to survive, especially with the winter coming up?'"

"The coronavirus has a far-reaching impact, leaving many Marylanders without a job and unable to pay rent, while landlords say the virus has created a serious financial burden for them. 'Some tenants think landlords are out to evict rather than keep them. That's not true at all,' said landlord and investor Tim Yusubov, who is a Maryland resident with properties in Phoenix and Tampa, Florida. 'It's not easy to have properties where clients are not paying. There's a lot of stress.'"

"Last week's biggest deal was a resale of a 58th-floor condo at One57, the Billionaires' Row tower that touched off Manhattan's luxury development boom a decade ago. The 416-square-metre apartment, on the market since March, was last listed at US$22.25 million. That is at least 35 per cent less than what the seller paid in 2014, though the actual sale price would not be known until the deal closes. 'It's a tough deal for the seller, but a great deal on the buy side,' said Ryan Serhant, the broker representing the purchaser."

"Alex Blavatnik sold unit 5A at Faena House to an undisclosed buyer at a slight loss compared to the $11.55 million the LLC paid for the unit in 2015, the year the building was completed."

"As Nile Niami continues working on The One — his 100,00-square-foot mansion he’s hoping to sell for $500 million — he just wrapped up a smaller deal in the Hollywood Hills. The spec developer and movie producer has sold a modern spot perched above the Sunset Strip for $9.58 million, less than half of the massive $19.9 million he was aiming for in 2017. It’ll chalk up as a loss when factoring in the renovations he made."

"Southern California’s real estate market is trash. Everything is overpriced and not enough affordable housing is being built. Of course, plenty of housing is being built for the well off, like this outrageous new luxury property where if you spend enough on a condo, you’ll get a McLaren thrown in for free. The latest trend is luxury developers trying to outdo each other by throwing in outrageous extras. If you don’t like the Mclaren, you can head to Miami. There the Aston Martin Residences are under construction. If you purchase one of their $5.3 million dollar condos, you get an Aston Martin DB11 for free."

"Let’s not shed any tears for the folks who invested in an unbuilt condo and who now stand to lose money when the condo is completed. They are speculators. They speculated that the market price would go up and it did not. Speculation by definition means risk. Also these are the very people who have inflated the price of condos because they compete with people who are actually looking for a place to live. Condos have been hugely overbuilt for years in Toronto in part to satisfy the demands of speculators."

"Meadow Lake and North Battleford RE/MAX Owner Wally Lorenz said to come off 10-15 per cent of property value is tough for the market, though it may indicate where real estate should go in the future. 'Were we overpriced that this was needed to correct itself?' he said. 'It’s a tough way of doing it.'"

"Hong Kong’s streak of sell-out weekends of residential property ended when two developers sold fewer than a third of the combined 212 flats on offer in two districts. In Yuen Long, Road King failed to find a single buyer for the 51 flats at its Crescent Green project."

"Danke Apartment rode a boom and expanded rapidly. With less rental demand, Danke negotiated with landlords to terminate their leases early, resulting in losses for Danke, whose name means eggshell in Mandarin. Danke needs at least 1 billion yuan, equivalent to about $153 million, in cash to meet its near-term debt obligations, one of the people familiar with the situation said. 'The relevant authorities ought to take some drastic measures. If this drags on, it will spiral out of control,' said Hu Jinghui, chief economist of Jinghui Think Tank, a real-estate consulting firm."

"A Beijing apartment owner who wanted to be identified only by his last name, Wei, said he collected rent regularly from Danke for more than a year before things started to go south at the beginning of 2020. The 46-year-old said company representatives called him multiple times, asking for rent reductions. Danke then began delaying payments, Mr. Wei added. 'The government 'should take a clear stand on the issue,' Mr. Wei added."

"The boss of one of Australia's most well-known construction companies, Grocon, has apologised to creditors left in the lurch, as administrators grapple with the company's complex partial collapse. During the proceedings, the company's boss, Daniel Grollo, addressed the roughly 30 creditors on the line. 'Today is a difficult day in the 73-year history of Grocon, a long legacy that many of you have contributed to,' he said. 'While we have wanted to move away from construction during the last few years, we have found ourselves closing it down in a most undignified way. Causing pain to employees, creditors and creditors' employees. For that I am very sorry.'"

"After the Covid-19 lockdown in spring, London’s prime property prices have slumped as international buyers stay away. London’s luxury rental market is also suffering, with average prices plummeting by 10.5% through November, the biggest fall since the global financial crisis, Knight Frank said. An oversupply of short-stay properties and a lack of visitors to the capital have combined to drag prices down."

"Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have officially ceased to intrigue the English and as a result, have been placed at a discounted price at TK Maxx. The biscuts previously sold for £16 a pop at Harrods are now being sold £3.99 at TK Maxx. A shopper at TK Maxx commented on the price cut, explaining how, 'The public’s changing opinion can never be more sharply highlighted than Harry and Meghan’s Harrods’ shortbread being flogged in TK Maxx. What a travesty.'"