A report from the Daily Mail. "Property sales in New York City plunged 46 percent in 2020 from the prior year's level, costing $1.6 billion in lost city and state tax revenue, according to the Real Estate Board of New York. The steep decline in real estate transactions came as residents fled the city in a mass exodus amid pandemic fears, punishing lockdowns and soaring crime."

From WCVB in Massachusetts. "'There are not a lot of resources for us landlords. There’s mortgage assistance that as landlords, we can apply for, but that is only a small part of the expenses of being a landlord. We have insurance, repairs on the property, etc', said Doug Quattrochi, a landlord who also serves as the executive director of Mass Landlords, Inc. Quattrochi said he felt there were not enough resources provided by the government to make sure landlords stay afloat if they are unable to receive rent from their tenants."

"The options for landlords are not the same as the ones that tenants have in terms of getting financial assistance, so they are left with other options that do not necessarily benefit them in the end. 'Many landlords are selling their properties because they often cannot afford to keep their property due to their tenants not being able to pay the rent,' said Quattrochi."

From Motley Fool. "If you’re looking for your next rental investment, you’ll probably want to steer clear of any major tech hub. According to Realtor.com, these cities are seeing double-digit rent declines. The numbers are pretty jaw-dropping, too: In San Francisco, for example, rents on studio apartment units were down 34% over the year in December 2020."

"But it’s not just San Fran that’s getting hit hard. As the report states: 'Rent declines in expensive, high-tech hubs remain the norm. Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area are seeing the largest declines in rents, along with Manhattan, Boston, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.'"

"In Chicago’s home seat, studio rents have dropped more than 20% since December 2019. One-bedroom apartments are also down considerably (11.1%). New York County: New York has the second-biggest drops across all three property types, with anywhere from 16% to 21% declines. San Francisco County: The Bay Area has seen some of the biggest declines. As mentioned, studio rents are down 33.8%, with one-bedroom apartments dropping 25.5% and two bedrooms 22.8%. Nearby Alameda and San Mateo counties are seeing drops as well. San Mateo’s one-bedroom rents fell 17.6% last month, and Alameda’s studios were down 18%."

"Santa Clara County, California: Home to Silicon Valley, this tech-heavy area has seen serious drops in rents, too. They’ve declined more than 19.6% on studios, 13.1% on one bedrooms, and 10.8% on two beds. Suffolk County, Massachusetts: In Suffolk County, home to Boston, rents are taking a similar beating. Studios are down 20.4%, while one- and two-bedroom are down 17.6% and 14.8%, respectively."

The Star Tribune in Minnesota. "Anthony Aguirre left his corporate job to manage his eight Minneapolis vacation rentals full time. Now, as the city prepares to implement a new short-term rental (STR) ordinance that will limit investors to one STR other than the home they live in, he's being forced to make a decision: Sell, or convert them to long-term rentals. 'We've been running the business as the city wanted us to,' he said. 'But this could destroy my business.'"

"Sharon Cohn, the developer of a nearby North Loop building, which opened last spring in the midst of civil unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic and who also has a partnership with Sonder, wrote that without Sonder's commitment 'the project would be nearly vacant.'"

"Kari Lundin, a Twin Cities real estate agent who specializes in working with small real estate investors, said the ordinance comes at particularly perilous time for many small investors who are already struggling to deal with rising vacancy rates and new tenant protections. 'People want out [of the city],' she said. 'I have a number [who] don't want to do business anymore in Minneapolis.'"

"Aguirre, who runs a small STR consulting company, said he bought his first rental in 2012 — a triplex that he lived in and initially ran as a long-term rental. After leaving his full-time job nearly three years ago, he's not sure what's next. 'We hoped to have a long-term business in Minneapolis,' he said. 'Now we're just trying to stay afloat.'"

From Insauga in Canada. "The average rent for all Canadian properties listed on Rentals.ca in December was $1,723 per month—down 7.1 per cent year over year (but the lowest rate of decline since May). The average monthly rental rate per square foot has declined 20 per cent annually in downtown Toronto, dropped 13.4 per cent in the amalgamated City of Toronto and decreased 11.3 per cent in the GTA. The report says that condominium apartments in Canada took a big hit in average rents in 2020, falling 18.5 per cent annually to $2,009 per month from $2,465 per month in December 2019."

"The report also says that, due to travel restrictions, some investors are now advertising their Airbnb units for long-term use, further saturating the condo market. 'In many markets, rents have dropped to the point where tenants can lease a suite with an additional bedroom for the same rent as they were paying last year,' said Matt Danison, CEO of Rentals.ca."

The Globe and Mail in Canada. "An Ontario judge has ordered two alleged fraudsters to pay at least $9-million to investors as punishment for repeatedly disregarding his pretrial orders in a civil lawsuit. Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen said that the contempt for the court exhibited by property developers Michael Hyman and Giuseppe (Joe) Anastasio means they should pay the full amount sought by the investors suing them – even though the case hasn’t gone to trial."

"Thrive’s capital came, predominantly, from unsophisticated retail investors in Brampton’s Sikh community. When Thrive realized its investment had allegedly been squandered, it obtained multiple orders from Justice Koehnen. The judge ordered Mr. Hyman and Mr. Anastasio to provide, among other things, a list of their assets, an accounting of what happened to Thrive’s investment, as well as the locations of the developers’ luxury automobiles, including a 2019 Lamborghini Aventador and a 2019 Porsche 911."

From Letting Agent Today in the UK. "Data from SpareRoom suggests that London’s typical room rent has dropped further. This is the third consecutive quarter that London has seen a significant decline in average room rents, with rents down throughout 2020. In Q4, every London region was down year on year with the EC postcode seeing the biggest drop in rent (down no less than 19 per cent in 12 months), followed by the WC postcode down 16 per cent and the W postcode down 12 per cent."

"SpareRoom says 27 per cent of renters in London plan to move after the pandemic has come to an end, with half of them intending to leave the capital altogether. The upshot is a projected 13 per cent net exodus of renters from London, the platform claims. The London postcodes where room rents have dropped most over the last 12 months are EC3 (Aldgate) down 26 per cent; SW1 (Westminster/Belgravia/Pimlico) down 23 per cent; EC2 (Bishopsgate/Cheapside) down 21 per cent; and W8 (Holland Park) down 20 per cent."

"Matt Hutchinson, SpareRoom director, comments: 'London rents continue to fall and, as has been the case throughout the past year, it’s the expensive areas where they fall the fastest. We’re now seeing the biggest drop in London room rents since spring, and there’s no immediate sign of a recovery.'"

The Advocate in Australia. "As the call for a pause on short-term accommodation permits stalls, the financial appeal of offering properties as holiday rentals continues to lose its shine with Tasmanian listings on Airbnb plummeting. The Tasmanian Hospitality Industry said it would support such an action, as well as a review of current short-stay accommodation regulations. But it added that in the current tourism climate, a pause would not make much difference anyway."

"'Accommodation is going to struggle while there is limited tourism, whether that is traditional accommodation providers, or those who are unregulated.'"

"Louise Elliott said a pause was not necessary, as market forces would resolve the issue naturally. 'My Airbnb is at really low occupancy, it is at 20 per cent whereas it used to be 90 per cent, and a lot of owners can't tolerate that. They have gone back to long term rentals and stay wary of Airbnb because of the income insecurity,' he said."