Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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Rent crunch to worsen
Vacancy 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.
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; S+ G9 L; K; P% 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.
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"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.

1 S% m# X# n; \: p0 X) [4 _& I4 \They 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.

1 P) d, W& O4 f; X) \0 G9 CAccording 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.

( d) T2 x4 g  M$ \( _% ]/ ~Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

; |5 \  q1 O  D: Y"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.

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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"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.

& v) Y$ @9 k+ Q( S6 Z0 f& Y* z"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 $400,000 to entice buyers. So far, there have been only lookers.
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3 `6 l$ d) t" g, QSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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! D! {1 f* n# U, E* _( @6 E& Q* OHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
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" _) i0 D4 e& L% uThose investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.
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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:
6 Z2 I0 T% |" }" H3 J9 h5 ^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:
4 q% g1 l+ O4 h* R有房的, 房子在贬值.
/ x+ O0 S) O: m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!