Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
  B9 _2 B% g! z& kVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

% m, I/ [2 ~8 V( WBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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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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  M: }* K/ Z3 a"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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* D) W2 T. [6 o4 G7 p2 HSIX MONTHS LOOKING

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.

; }: V) Q6 Y/ w1 n  |$ H"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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! S3 r  g0 {$ H3 W5 u3 [1 n* xAccording 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.
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Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

7 C# }9 J# K8 k3 {"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

, n/ q+ N/ R. E" ZMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.

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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"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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% j8 @1 l( c: R" a( r/ W8 i"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."

: y" C; `! }1 Y7 ^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.
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& }# N7 J( ^5 z: o3 JSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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7 n0 n+ m1 b+ x$ y0 nHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
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4 j0 W+ H. C1 t5 E4 `) }0 T' kThose investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.

Hering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices.
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The 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.
$ P0 K) G: I. ~5 M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
现在是大家的日子都不好过:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

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8 u8 O( r1 c' A. C% j; p6 V待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!