Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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" c  O- X0 U5 H2 F& q7 nRent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

0 G& |) s* F% A- v# G+ DBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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! S, h& @2 T! ?& v2 M. K0 bThink 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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"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

; U2 ?3 y3 R2 y' F% ^" zSIX 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.
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6 A% `: _2 {/ f' EThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.
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"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

3 I- A7 K8 h1 b! a  Q+ pAccording 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%.
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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.

Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.
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: S# _* X& ~/ H+ d7 d7 K3 D"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.
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7 g  O" [& `! a/ XMeanwhile, 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.

1 v& ^5 P6 v+ J: R2 c. U"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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5 Y& d9 P6 _" y/ h"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."

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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Schulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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1 E" Q- b+ ?( U+ u! ~Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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. S% s- P& z0 Z- ]% i) LINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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6 v$ _  }: }3 C6 v3 ?5 V" F"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

+ V) O& o. @9 K4 l% \Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.

% e  `3 l( h0 P# G. Q3 F/ `0 N  t" l- U. OHering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices.

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:
1 {, \( ], S7 y  f( e  g5 s! ?有房的, 房子在贬值.
" b4 [6 |8 ?/ S; d. n* V- d- y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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7 o& H- P( j6 `9 W$ e待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!