A report from DS News. "An estimated two million homeowners remain in forbearance plans. By stage, 10.7% of total loans in forbearance were in the initial forbearance plan stage, while 83.1% were in a forbearance extension, and the remaining 6.2% were forbearance re-entries. 'An unchecked wave of foreclosures would also risk destabilizing the housing market for all consumers. We are giving homeowners the time and opportunity to make informed decisions about the best course of action for them and their families, whether that is seeking a loan modification or selling their home. And we are giving mortgage servicers the flexibility they need to serve homeowners with dignity, while managing an unprecedented volume of borrowers seeking assistance,' said CFPB Acting Director Dave Uejio."

From Housing Wire. "Ginnie Mae is set to introduce a new 40-year mortgage term for its issuers. Only loans with terms greater than 361 months and less than or equal to 480 months will be accepted, but there will be no loan amount restriction, Ginnie Mae said. 'We have begun the work to make this security product available, because an extended term up to 40 years can be a powerful tool in reducing monthly payment obligations with the goal of home retention,' said Michael Drayne, Ginnie Mae acting executive vice president. 'It’s important that Ginnie Mae issuers have secondary market liquidity for options that our agency partners determine are appropriate for supporting homeowners in distress.'"

"John Getchis, Ginnie Mae’s senior vice president for capital markets, noted that the 40-year pool design gives issuers more control and the ability to maximize market pricing. 'We think the market will find value in securities backed by these loans, so we wanted to provide a pooling structure that would enable issuers to capture that value — thereby enhancing their ability to provide the strongest possible options to the homeowners while remaining respectful of investors’ capital,' he said."

From KSMU on Missouri. "Bud Jones, president of the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors, says he thinks the current situation is more sustainable than the housing bubble that caused the Great Recession. 'We’ve got good interest rates," Jones tells KSMU. 'We’ve got a lot of people willing to buy. And even though home prices went up, obviously, it’s ok. It seems like a very palatable increase in prices. As much as they are higher, appraisals are staying up and it feels a little less like a house of cards than maybe in 2008 might have felt.'"

From KPLC in Louisiana. "With all the home construction in the Lake Area, it’s hard to believe there’s a housing shortage pushing the price of homes through the roof. Nationwide, there’s a growing housing shortage. 'But Lake Charles area, Southwest Louisiana, made it much worse by having two hurricanes and a freeze and a flood,' realtor Deborah Anderson said. Homeowner Sarah Wilson said selling her home to a first-time buyer was a quick process but pricing in a market that has been through everything the Lake Area has was the real challenge."

"'Because the market is so hot, the pricing hasn’t, in some cases, caught up,' Wilson said. 'We took a number of different parameters.'"

The Spokesman Review in Washington. "Gov. Jay Inslee imposed a moratorium on evictions. But on July 1, they will begin to fade away. For the past 15 years, Keith Kelley has managed a portfolio of some 50 rental properties, about half of them located in the West Central neighborhood where he and his family live. Kelley said he's endured the most grueling and dispiriting stretch of his career. 'Not only has it been extremely difficult managing in a situation where I can't enforce contracts, I've been down about 30% on my rental income, which has had a really dramatic effect on my business,' he said."

"After Inslee revealed plans to again extend the moratorium last week, Kelley said he was reaching a breaking point. 'For the first time in my career as a landlord,' Kelley said, 'I'm looking at the future thinking, 'If things continue as they are, I'm not sure if I'm going to continue to doing this.'"

The Los Angeles Times. "California tenants will be protected from evictions for another three months, and those with low incomes will have all of their past-due rent paid by the state, under a bill signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The three-month extension was opposed by some landlord groups, including the California Rental Housing Assn."

"'We have been under severe financial distress for an excess of 18 months now, and AB 832 will not help the tens of thousands of small mom and pop rental providers who are financially suffering and are struggling to continue providing affordable and safe housing for their residents,' said Christine LaMarca, the association’s president."

The Orange County Register in California. "It’s encouraging to see Newsom trying to narrow the pandemic’s housing aid gap. The reality check is admitting the Fed’s cheap money policies primarily benefit those wealthy enough to borrow. These financing bargains ballooned home prices across the nation to unthinkable heights — far in excess of any extra buying power created by record-low interest rates."

"Of course, that cheap money could overheat housing values to a degree that the market suffers yet another collapse. That calamity might slash prices, creating chances for more California renters to join the privileged ownership group. Unless, the nation comes to ownership’s rescue — again!"

The New York Post. "In the past year alone, the number of sales surrounding the roughly two dozen properties listed on the Trump Organization‘s website jumped 72%, Realtor’s analysis found. Meanwhile, the average prices for these properties, mostly condos, have fallen nearly 24% since 2016. Josh Nass paid $1.8 million for a Trump Tower pad in an all-cash deal this month. The same unit sold for $2.3 million in 2006."

"Sales at his Manhattan properties rose 16% in the first quarter of this year, taking into account that the median prices fell significantly, as they did throughout the city. Prices have been falling in the Big Apple since March and have been 'declining consistently downward,' Victor Rodriguez, director of market analytics at the CoStar Group, told The Post in April."

The Western Investor in Canada. "At the new Upton tower in Calgary’s Beltline, tenants are offered 1.5 months of free rent, no security deposit and no move-in fee. In Edmonton, incentives offered by landlords include one and two months free rent, retail gift cards, free or marked down utilities such as internet and cable, move-in bonuses and cash incentives."

"Winnipeg has many incentives advertised by landlords for one-bedroom apartments and condos spread out across the city. The most common deals include a number of units offered at discounted rent, move-in cash bonuses, free parking or utilities and gift cards. Among the best incentive found in Vancouver was in the Regency Park Residences on Cardero Street in the city’s West End. The landlord is offering one-month free rent for a one-year lease and two months free rent on two-year leases. One bedrooms start a $1,600 per month and the property manager told Western Investor June 25 'we have received a lot of calls, but we still have units available.'"

From Live Mint in India. "Many homeowners prefer to keep their houses vacant instead of renting them out, as they are afraid that the tenants may end up squatting on their properties. According to a report by Khaitan & Co and Knight Frank, the following cities have the highest vacant houses as a percentage of the total residential properties - Gurugram - 25.8%, Pune - 21.7%, Greater Mumbai - 15.3%, Delhi - 11-15%, Bengaluru - 11-15%, Ahmedabad - 11-15%, Ghaziabad - 11-15%."

The South China Morning Post. "With Thai developers struggling to dispose of a massive stock of unsold flats in Bangkok, many of them are trying to lure overseas buyers with huge discounts and bargains to whittle down the inventory and get the struggling sector back on its footing. Bangkok-listed Sansiri, one of the top three developers in the Southeast Asian nation, is marketing units as small as 231 square feet (21.5 sq metre) starting at HK$500,000 (US$64,394) to buyers from Hong Kong – a size they are familiar with but at a fraction of prices in the world’s most expensive property market."

From RE Talk Asia. "Australian landlords hoping to rent their units to foreign students are going through a painful period in which international student numbers are steadily declining. 'Eight months ago, we advised investors to hold on to their inner-city property if they could afford to, but that there would be pain before gain,' said Juwai IQI Executive Chairman Georg Chmiel. 'My advice is the same today. These assets have depressed values now, so it's a poor time to sell. It is disastrous for investors who purchased at the high prices of the last couple of years. It is less so for those who no higher than what they have fallen back to this year.'"

"In the Inner West of Sydney, the average asking price for units has fallen by 9.8% over the past 12 months. In the same area, rents are down 8.8% compared to a year ago. 'Australian student accommodation operators have some 100,000 beds and $3 billion of assets. Occupancy is down to just 25% on average -- meaning that 75% of their rooms are empty. They are suffering, but they also have deep pockets, a sophisticated outlook and a long-term time horizon. They are investing more and building more units, even though many of their rooms are empty today.'"

From Stuff New Zealand. "There is a shortage of rental properties nationwide yet on Auckland’s popular North Shore some landlords are reporting they are struggling to find tenants. NZ Property Investors Federation executive officer Sharon Cullwick said a number of North Shore landlords had reported they were finding it extremely difficult to get tenants for their rentals. A significant number of properties had been listed on Trade Me since last year, she said."

"'One reason could be that more apartment buildings closer to the CBD are being finished and people are choosing to move into them instead,' she said. 'Another reason could be the rents being asked for do not meet the market and are too high.'"