Sidenote: my wife and I have well-paying jobs (well, only one of us now due to covid layoffs) but $160k in student loan debt, if that could at all be a factor in this.

It takes around 6-8 months to lay off to happen and local economy to get impacted since at that job category almost everyone has savings etc .  

Some 1.54 million Americans applied for state unemployment insurance in early June (and more than 700,000 sought compensation though an emergency federal program), reflecting a tenth consecutive weekly decline in job losses from the coronavirus, but a still-worrisome number of layoffs, according to the Labor Department.

Most lien holders, other than being required by law, are cooperative in giving layoffs so they can get paid.  

I’ve heard some people speculate that since the majority of the lay offs are service workers (most don’t buy houses) that residential RE values will be fine (who knows).

Economists worry a second wave of layoffs is keeping the numbers elevated, posing a potential threat to an economic recovery that’s now in the early stages.

A month earlier the auto company announced that a lot of layoffs would be coming throughout the company.

Furloughs are ending and most people are not being invitee back to their old jobs.2) Stimulus is running out3) Extra unemployment benefits are expiring in 4 weeks 4) PPP program expires at the end of July5) Second round of corporate layoffs are just starting now6) The shoe is going to drop on commercial RE7) Residential RE will likely start to face the music soon8) Persistence of Covid means single economy towns are at grave risk.

Could this change as layoffs trickle into the higher-paying job sector?

Especially in the current environment where new traders on Robinhood are buying options willy-nilly, it's like taking candy from kids.