Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

7 M4 [2 i5 J. x4 lRent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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' |& _" Q. p9 h+ G1 J/ I& Z: n  gBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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, F' r9 C& z$ T0 j4 ?% r  GThink 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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! s: o9 q4 z0 a& R) t$ e( Y* K"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

8 z" ~/ G, R- j5 jSIX MONTHS LOOKING

* [% K. M1 e0 e2 zJasmine 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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# E7 n+ R% m; u! tFor now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

9 b- T* c" R6 i4 ]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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; X+ e9 }5 p! ?: Z) |According 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.
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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.
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"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

2 x5 p" g) _/ K" E5 CMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

% Q! r8 Z9 Y6 T: {0 k) s! I7 @# d9 |8 NMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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5 K! `* ^- A0 x: oWith 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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; g4 {. p! b1 T1 y, k"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 $165,000 less than five years ago.
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5 J- D: y4 l$ I. T# g+ {" `5 o1 A" ^: KHome 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."

- X( M  L) R, a5 I$ GThose 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.

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:
0 c( e( B/ P8 J2 ^* C2 f有房的, 房子在贬值.
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
% |' P+ ]3 \( v5 C1 Y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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待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!