COVID-19 has already disrupted housing markets in a number of ways and will continue to do so for some time.
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In the private rental market, many tenants have lost their jobs and have been unable to pay rent while others are reliant on JobKeeper/JobSeeker payments.
But this support is temporary, and if tenants do not have a source of income when intervention ends it could mean thousands of tenants are unable to pay rent.
Governments have asked landlords to be sympathetic to the plight of their tenants and negotiate rents, while placing a moratorium on evictions for six months so tenants are not forced out of their homes.
Many tenants have reassessed their position, perhaps younger people moving back home or more house sharing.
With population growth set to take a hit with closed borders, in combination with tenants unable to pay rent, demand will fall and rents are likely to follow.
Many landlords with vacant short-term lets may opt to seek longer term tenants instead, increasing the supply of rental properties. This could further reduce rents.
So while many are doing it tough in the rental market, there is a potential upside for those who have kept their incomes and may now be able to negotiate their rent or seek a new home.
In the home ownership market, more than 300,000 households have deferred their mortgage payments. Without this option, many would have been forced to sell which would have meant price falls.
The big question is what happens at the end of the mortgage deferral period.
Will we see lots of forced sales, or will any economic recovery be soon enough to allow the majority of the 300,000 to resume mortgage payments?
It is doubtful the banks are going to want to foreclose on too many mortgages at once.
Traditional activities such as home opens and auctions have been disrupted so sales activity levels have dropped.
New house building has slowed due to uncertainty and many projects postponed.
Only time will tell how prices will behave but falling population growth, rising unemployment and a lack of consumer confidence are usually bad news for house prices.
So, short-term price falls are likely, but so is a strong bounce back when the economy recovers and those in a position to buy feel the time is right.
Forecasting rents and house prices is difficult at the best of times, COVID-19 may well have made it impossible.
Professor Steven Rowley, from the School of Economics, Finance and Property at Curtin University
