Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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- K; C% w$ Z/ t% ]# @+ SRent crunch to worsen
6 d% i5 T, V5 N1 RVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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8 u" y9 x& _9 w9 V" T" xBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

, W( B6 @2 Z5 [/ y" B* e$ [6 _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.
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SIX MONTHS LOOKING

8 {; T; w0 T& l$ N" v- xJasmine 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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, v* b6 y4 g- K2 T/ NFor 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.

6 [6 F& l: q& D, y* a"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

1 T$ \+ g" P6 C! R* ?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.

Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.
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"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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* b$ c; \* k* |" P- a, sMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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% K! e* M! R& {* K% X# NMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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& p* y$ i7 g. l7 ]+ j5 fWith 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.

# h! j3 [4 K( p! t) L: m8 n"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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) E$ a" ^) v" i' N( _" _+ TOriginally 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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' Q! ~* G7 ^/ I, eSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

* Z' _5 R, f8 pINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

Those 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.

1 v2 w3 L9 A9 c% f! c: N3 LThe 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:
& j2 `# a* A0 R& D! k" u有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

% E2 K' |9 F5 T待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!