Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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! i+ Y3 y* p; `Rent crunch to worsen
6 m6 V0 {' p8 r  i, FVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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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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8 L7 b2 B! H- r"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

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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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.
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' U: j( `2 o: L; s, M"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%.
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% g; c0 B  s! ?8 w/ p% I7 R# [; cA 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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' T+ @1 j+ D, Q1 n# k7 hRates 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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4 R! w/ Z# q1 N) n2 |, c"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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  z% b2 o& a" n* q( YMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

7 F  }2 F9 ~5 U3 aMeanwhile, 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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"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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% y" A1 ]$ O7 X* g/ o" qOriginally 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.

Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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7 T0 q& p+ x& r; e( WINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

2 u: B. s9 ^' j8 j+ g0 {$ @( |9 V"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.
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# \' p9 t/ V1 F1 _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.
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
% |) E4 C4 O+ g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.

待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!