Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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Rent crunch to worsen
# ]1 l$ T, B. B( |0 J0 ^" VVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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9 C3 S1 k( Y" B" mThat'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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+ l( }( s+ ?" N4 P"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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- c4 K) [4 Z0 ?& `SIX MONTHS LOOKING
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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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0 c3 G# F8 ?$ y& @) u) F8 mFor now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.
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They have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

& y# a! h* v5 n/ k! V"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

: ?" s$ P$ x4 a! M: BAccording to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.
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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.

% i9 H: P' |& yRates 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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, @  f2 }) J* Q) ?& p, }. sMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.

4 b2 e5 t* H$ B% |4 {* P6 jWith 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.

, @! L% F; ~8 `0 ]"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.

, M4 x- n( L2 Z! C6 \1 ^2 A4 _"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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* h( ^: w2 G; ~9 [' EOriginally 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.

* c, S9 _; _' }; F7 Q% ^, ^INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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; i  r! R. O- n. z"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

+ _5 G" ]* T3 Z9 wThose investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.

, f% b9 ]' M+ e6 T+ a( [& {) aHering 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:
/ ^  }; N7 C9 T4 k3 w有房的, 房子在贬值.
( ?7 j  h- P6 U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
& @# ]. y3 i" R5 R# r% m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.

9 {+ c9 l/ M% s- _  O/ S待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!