Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
% C% X5 b& h+ q9 J  P* S" qVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

That's when the apartment vacancy rate in Edmonton is forecasted to dip below the current 1% - making it that much harder for already frustrated renters to find a place to live.
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( M4 o$ I& P, U" ^+ N5 t' d"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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SIX MONTHS LOOKING

$ w& i4 S- t. |Jasmine said she's already spent more than six months trying to find a decent place for her and her fiance to rent with no luck.

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For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

They have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.
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According to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.

The rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.

A limited supply of new rental buildings is keeping the market tight, according to the CMHC's outlook for Edmonton, released this week. Apartments being converted into condos is further keeping a stranglehold on renters.

) n8 L' n% |/ l- [9 ~Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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; O% T8 n5 l: p' x- {With a growing inventory, high prices, and wary buyers, houses can be on the market for months. The CMHC predicts listing periods will get even longer in the new year.
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' [6 u% Q% }# A5 b$ k"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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"Shoppers are shopping around a lot more now. They're taking their time. I have had one couple who have come in four times now, but they're not in any rush to make an offer."
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Originally listed at $450,000, in late August, she dropped her price to $400,000 to entice buyers. So far, there have been only lookers.

Schulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

. r1 L, O: P* u9 Q" l. l"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
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Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.
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Hering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices.

4 \; Z' Y+ {: W# lThe Edmonton Real Estate Board recently reported the average single-family home in Edmonton sold for $399,555 in September, down 1% from the previous month.

水管工

现在是大家的日子都不好过:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
# O% I3 L9 F" A# K" Y4 _9 d没房的, 房租在上涨.

YOKO

I wondered that how much the rental would be going up for just two bedroom apartment next year???

人生几何

原帖由 水管工 于 2007-11-5 09:42 发表
# \" H# U9 i8 `* r8 g3 g现在是大家的日子都不好过:
$ n: E& X5 U; `* `# K% C有房的, 房子在贬值.
" h, h# f) `. o! o5 T! m2 `) K: \8 e; Q没房的, 房租在上涨.

待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!