Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

3 V6 p7 _! |8 S+ n, @& H6 HThink the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

( d) V4 G3 F4 Z7 qThat'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.

"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

" @* F) F4 x, B% PSIX MONTHS LOOKING

$ A3 K# X6 U' Z) d# j% s4 AJasmine 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.

  

7 ~- F5 Y8 B, r6 d5 X7 u# cFor 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.

"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%.

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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7 D' T, ^% d4 t$ aRates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

! ^) p! |# S; C* n1 y% @7 h"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

! \" Y5 t4 a& b/ p* OMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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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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% v, N4 k* o& v"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
9 l8 d: n* _. ^4 n( i5 ^
4 m, k8 b3 O) @+ u"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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% b! N& y# \, L8 k- i9 D( JSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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: f* d$ u  N3 F% M1 `5 o& oHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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  q) A  k) b  m" H( u4 M* {* b" w"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
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Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.
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" H5 `9 ?7 Q6 j2 U2 yHering 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:
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
现在是大家的日子都不好过:
; I; |' B! l' {  X2 M% s1 n- r有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

' _( I% ^2 U8 v* o4 I待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!