A report from Fox 5 Vegas in Nevada. "Assembly Bill 486 would pick up where the state eviction moratorium leaves off when it expires at the same time midnight. If signed, Nevada property owners temporarily won't be allowed to evict tenants in court for not paying rent if it can be shown they've applied for rental assistance, and if their status is pending. But landlords we spoke to worry the legislation will put them at continued risk for financial ruin. 'Some of the tenants, they come and tell us they're in the CHAP program, but that doesn't mean anything, we haven't received the payments for months!' said Sanje Sedera, owner of Zenith Realty Group."

From CNBC. "More than 11 million Americans are behind on their rent and many could be pushed from their homes when the national eviction ban expires in June. 'We need to let this moratorium stay in place until we spend all this money,' said Mark Melton, a lawyer who has been representing tenants facing eviction pro bono in Dallas. 'If you bail out the renter, that means you bailed out the landlord.'"

The New York Post. "The rent was too damn high — and now New Yorkers can live it up in nicer apartments. 'This is a golden age to be a renter in the city right now,' said John Walkup, co-founder of UrbanDigs. 'You have a ton of inventory so you have great choices, you’ve got landlords who actually need you, and so they’re offering concessions and they’re offering lower rents.'"

"Software engineer Raylen Margono, 26, traded a 450-square-foot one-bedroom in East Williamsburg for a 900-square-foot one-bedroom in the heart of Williamsburg — and is paying $200 less in monthly rent. It’s also nicer. 'There’s just so much space that you can finally make it an apartment,' said Margono."

From CBC News in Canada. "Matt Awram, owner of Third Eye Home Inspections in Amherstburg, worries that people are being misinformed. 'They're being told that they can't have a home inspection, or they're not going to get the house, but that's just not the case,' he said. He frequently gets calls from recent home buyers, he explained, requesting an inspection after a sale has gone through because they weren't able to get one beforehand, sometimes leading to 'horror stories.'"

"Len Inkster, the Executive Secretary of the Ontario Association of Certified Home Inspectors, blames realtors for creating the time crunch in the first place. He says the current market is being driven by 'auction fever' with buyers and sellers making decisions born out of panic. 'There's a whole series of things going on and it's being driven by stupidity and greed, in my opinion,' Inkster said. 'Every single professional dealing in real estate has got something to answer for there. But above that, the government is just — and it doesn't matter which colour you vote for — they're all the same. Nobody seems to want to do anything except make a profit.'"

From CTV News. "The Canadian real estate market has seen soaring prices, bidding wars and a lack of supply throughout the pandemic. There is a concern some home buyers may be stretching their mortgage budgets to the max, which is why a new mortgage stress test will be coming into effect on June 1. 'I do think there are a number of Canadians who are saying, you know what, let’s just pause and let’s see if the stress test slows things down and maybe some of the prices will come down with it,' Pattie Lovett-Reid, CTV’s Chief Financial Commentator, said."

"Even with the new rules, there have been some signs the housing market is starting to slow down. The Canadian Real Estate Association reported the number of homes changing hands fell 12 per cent from March to April. Even if the real estate market does slow down, no one is expecting huge price drops, but it could provide a more balanced market."

The Helsinki Times. "Savings Bank Finland pointed out that house prices in several regions, especially in certain urban micro-localities, have risen rapidly during the coronavirus pandemic, opening the door to a correction once the pandemic has been overcome. Jukka Rantanen of Sp-Koti, the real estate division of Savings Bank, viewed that the robust demand for houses has driven up prices unreasonably in a short period of time."

"'We may statistically witness even a decline in prices, now also in the hot individual neighbourhoods in for example Espoo and Helsinki,' he commented. Another factor contributing to the forecast cooling of the market is the growing supply of houses. 'People who paid a high price for a house should prepare for some sort of a downward price correction if they plan on selling their house in the next two years. It may take a while before the general price development reaches the level people have been paying for houses recently,' said Rantanen."

The Malaysian Star. "Auctioneer Siti Izan Suhana Raden Omar said this was the best time to buy property as prices were attractive. 'On average, the selling price for properties in the secondary market in Johor is down by 20%.' The downward trend, she said, was expected to continue due to the prolonged pandemic and movement control order. She said the asking price for a condominium unit located along Jalan Skudai — which was previously valued at RM800,000 — had dropped to RM500,000."

"Siti Izan explained that the condominium units previously belonged to Malaysians, the majority of whom worked in Singapore. She said now they could no longer service bank loans as some had lost their jobs or had been staying in Singapore since the first MCO in March last year. 'Pre-Covid-19 days, they were earning in Singapore dollars but lived in Johor Baru. Now, however, they are stuck there and have to pay for their expenses in Singapore currency.'"

"Property firm proprietor Michael Tay Chee Boon also said it was a buyers’ market now and interested parties could bargain or negotiate when it came to prices. 'Supply outstrips demand and most houseowners will be willing to negotiate, especially those facing financial constraints,' he noted. 'Put your negotiation skills to good use. If the first owner is reluctant to reduce the price, look for another one and only go for the best offer.'"

From Interest New Zealand. "Activity is picking up again in central Auckland's apartment market although buyers remain fickle on price. The sector has been hit hard by the reduction in overseas student numbers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and that has flowed through into higher vacancy rates, lower rents and reduced prices, especially for the smaller shoebox apartments that are a mainstay of the CBD apartment market."

"Two of the apartments that sold at the City Sales auction had remediation issues. One was in the Connaught building on Waterloo Quadrant near the High Court, and the other was in the Harbour City complex on Gore St. Prices of apartments in both buildings have been under downward pressure due to their remediation issues. The Connaught apartment is a 56 square metre, one bedroom unit with a car park, which has a rating valuation of $730,000. It sold under the hammer for $350,000."

"Prices in the Harbour City building have been under even greater pressure and the 51 square metre, two bedroom unit with a rating valuation $440,000 offered last week, sold for just $50,000. Also on offer at the same auction was a 91 square metre unit in the Scene One building on Beach Rd at the bottom of town. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a car park and was rented out at $650 a week. But it is on a leasehold title and had combined outgoings (rates, opex and ground rent) of $30,765 a year, equivalent to $591 a week. It sold under the hammer for $15,000."

"The other apartment to sell at the same auction was a 47 square metre, two bedroom unit under management contract as part of a serviced apartment hotel in Hobson St. It had a rating valuation of $400,000, but sold under the hammer for $220,000 plus GST (if any)."

From Domain News in Australia. "The regions where houses are as rare as hens’ teeth in comparison to the glut of apartments were weighing on the unit market. Buyers in the unit market in these areas were spoilt for choice, affording them the time to shop around, said Catherine Murphy of The Agency North. 'A buyer a few years ago potentially had to look at three or four units. There’s now pages and pages of these units that fall into their criteria,' she said. 'It’s basically an oversupply versus demand.'"