A report from King 5 in Washington. "A group of Seattle landlords are speaking out against extending the eviction moratorium and other policies designed at protecting renters. Charlotte Thistle, who owns one rental property, argues these policies don't protect small landlords who only own a few properties. 'When you have something like the eviction moratorium and you have one tenant who's not paying rent; Well, if you have one property that's one hundred percent of your income,' Thistle said. 'You still have to pay property tax, mortgage, utilities. Nobody is giving us a free pass on those expenses.'"

From CBS 8 in California. "Tenants in San Diego are still able to keep a roof over their heads during the pandemic. 'I think there's a misconception that property owners or apartment owners want rich … that is very much not the case,' said Bob Weinberger, owner of RJW properties. 'I know many organizations and businesses have been hurt during the pandemic for sure. But property management really kind of feels picked on, as you're taking money out of the mouth of owners who have saved for 20 years to buy a 12 unit apartment building for retirement.'"

The Silicone Valley Business Journal in California. "The Tracy factory that until recently belonged to construction startup Katerra Inc. is now for available for lease. The company, formerly based in Menlo Park but which since relocated to Houston, reportedly told employees Tuesday it plans to cease operations, laying off thousands of employees nationwide — including 117 in Seattle — and likely leaving behind projects both finished and unfinished."

"The five-year-old company was one of the very early stage companies that quickly hit lofty valuations, thanks to an infusion of huge amounts of money from SoftBank. At its peak, it was valued at about $4 billion. Katerra had been struggling for much of the last year, at least. Katerra is the second big SoftBank-backed company to shut down this year, following the collapse in March of Greensill Capital, a London-based financial technology startup."

The Dayton Beach News Journal in Florida. "A Sarasota company has one more chance to line up tax credits for an affordable apartment project before city officials withdraw their vitally important support for the venture. Two years ago, city commissioners chose to endorse Beneficial Communities Partners over a rival in the very competitive tax credit application process. But with the land in the Midtown neighborhood targeted for the new apartments still sitting vacant and in limbo, city commissioners said at their meeting Wednesday night there won't be a third chance for Beneficial Communities."

"The plan was to build an upscale six-story apartment building with at least 500 beds where rent would have been about $1,700 per month. It would have been called the MLK Lofts, and it was designed to be a moneymaker for both the university and Heron. 'We did about as much as we could humanly do to get a project done, and if it doesn't work out we need to move on,' said Mayor Derrick Henry."

The Hartford Courant in Connecticut. "The owners of hundreds of apartments in New Haven have purchased their first two properties in downtown Hartford, and they have plans to convert one of them — a vacant, office building on Asylum Street — into residential rentals. Investment partnerships have acquired the buildings at 201 Ann Uccello St. and 275 Asylum St. for $7.1 million from Yisroel Rabinowitz, of Brooklyn, N.Y."

"Leasing got off to a strong start, but Rabinowitz said as larger conversions came online, he said couldn’t compete with their amenities or parking options. The bars on Ann Uccello also were a turn-off for some prospective tenants, Rabinowtiz said. Occupancy plunged after COVID-19 hit in 2020, as a chunk of out-of-state tenants broke leases to return home. A bar on street level also was shutdown as a result of state government-imposed pandemic restrictions. The property fell into foreclosure in January."

"Rabinowitz said he decided to sell the two properties, worried about rising apartment vacancies in Hartford and elsewhere as the pandemic deepened. A partner in the four Spectra apartment properties downtown, including three at the corner of Pearl and Trumbull streets and one on Constitution Plaza, had similar concerns, selling stakes in those projects. 'In my mind, I said, ‘Let me get out of this before it’s too late,' Rabinowitz said."

The New York Post. "For many Manhattanites edging to make a play in Brooklyn’s real estate boom, those numbers beg the question: is it better to rent or to buy? Of course, it depends, said Corcoran agent Vicki Negron, who works with both rentals and sales properties in Brooklyn. For those looking for a sweet deal, renting is the way to go, she added, noting that there is a 'hyper-supply of rentals' on the market pushing down rents."

"'The power has really swung in favor of the tenants’ side of the market, which means it can be a good time to rent right now,' confirmed Jim Kerby, a broker at Douglas Elliman who specializes in Brooklyn. 'Landlords have had to lower their rents, and many have gotten rid of the various transaction fees, too, like the first month’s security deposit.'"

From Bisnow Washington DC. "The competition between D.C. office landlords vying for tenants has become more aggressive than ever, with record-high vacancy rates forcing owners to offer increasingly generous deals to those willing to sign leases. In Q1, the D.C. Metro area recorded 4.2M SF of negative net absorption, according to JLL, and the region's office vacancy rate rose from 18.7% to 20.3%."

"'I'm not sure we're ever getting out of double-digit vacancy,' JLL Vice Chairman Elizabeth Cooper said. 'When people say, 'When is it going to get back?' It depends what you mean back to. If we really want it to be a more landlord-favorable market, I don't see it.'"

"The market dynamics differ based on building classes, and brokers agreed that the trophy class is the strongest segment, with Class-A and Class-B buildings experiencing more pain. CBRE Vice Chairman Lou Christopher said that the abundance of obsolete office space on the market makes it difficult to envision D.C. getting back to a landlord-favorable market. 'Unless old Class-B product is taken out of the market, whether it's demolished or made into residential, I don't think we're getting back,' Christopher said."

From Bizwest on Colorado. "Loveland-based McWhinney Real Estate Services Inc. closed on the Foothills Mall in Fort Collins Wednesday after pursuing the foreclosed shopping center for months. In February, a state judge approved McWhinney to begin negotiations to buy the ailing 620,000-square-foot property on Foothills Parkway, months after its owners placed it for sale and after it was placed in foreclosure when it fell behind on what remains of a $150 million construction loan."

From Business Daily Africa. "A growing number of property developers have frozen investments in the construction of residential houses and commercial spaces amid struggles with low occupancy rates and low returns. In the latest shift, insurance group Britam said it will stop new property developments as part of its five-year strategy to 2025, and instead focus on property m"anagement to reduce its exposure to financial risks and improve its performance."

"'In the last few years, the performance of the commercial and residential housing property in Kenya has been negatively affected by excess supply amid depressed demand. The impact has been low occupancy levels, low rental yields, and consequently revaluation losses depressing profitability,' Britam said in the 2020 Annual Report."

"This comes after the firm recorded a record net loss of Sh9.1 billion last year from a net profit of Sh3.5 billion in the previous year due to underperformance of the asset management class, valuation loss from property investments, and listed equities. The property market has been struggling in the past few years due to difficulties in disposing of new units amid an oversupply of both commercial and residential spaces."

"The depressed property market was worsened last year by job losses witnessed across many sectors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to declined demand and increased auctions of homes linked to loan defaults. Despite the oversupply and the low demand, the market has been characterised by high prices on the tag."

From Free Malaysia Today. "The Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting economic fallout is aggravating a downward spiral on the Klang Valley commercial property market which started several years ago affecting malls and office space and the situation is unlikely to end well, industry sources said. 'New owners will have a tough time. More facilities, cheaper rent,' a source said."

"But what is unique in the Klang Valley is that developers keep churning out office space like oodles of noodles, authorities keep approving development orders and banks keep dishing out financing, even as vacancy creeps up, despite real estate associations calling for a building halt years ago, although several property consultants said there was nothing to be concerned with even if office occupancy dropped to 75%. Well, that day has come."

The Australian Financial Review. "A two-speed residential rental economy has emerged post-COVID-19 with apartment owners in the eastern mainland states the biggest losers as a growing number of tenants opt for the space and security of houses. In December 2019 the average time between apartment tenancies was four weeks, but it is now more than six weeks."

"Apartment owners in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane have been hardest hit. Melbourne’s apartment rents have steadily declined in the past 18 months, falling 17 per cent from an average of $493 pre-COVID-19 to $412 in early June. Apartment rents fell by 8 per cent in Sydney and 4 per cent in Brisbane. apartment rents fell 7 per cent on a national basis over the same period due to border closures, few domestic tourists, a lack of business travel, no foreign students and stock oversupply in certain CBDs."