Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

$ X' @7 H  a/ l. Y" d& V1 ]$ DRent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
7 l  r" I2 {& X, ]) M$ N- N2 D: W
By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
/ R; i/ {1 s3 _1 T
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.
* u6 Z" `8 `+ A3 p/ l1 e
2 F. F& k7 {/ K0 M"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

! H: e# J% A" H7 \% D/ G2 g/ gSIX MONTHS LOOKING
2 L# o/ e: o- S+ E4 ~, D
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.
% @5 J4 t& E: J
  
( T) \7 u# t% D( p
For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

8 m8 ]8 d4 i6 p2 \6 VThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.
/ v, ?$ \' d( M
"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

/ q- m0 w# A2 p: s) fAccording 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%.
5 I3 q" ?5 {' @' F8 }8 h
9 _. n0 a6 z; _# }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.
  E) h$ t. O) \  e
Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.
: y2 I( E. L7 I# J; W; j
"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
) Z# w7 |- E7 a: p, E
8 q: v" F9 e3 T6 l; e4 nMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

Meanwhile, 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.

* B9 Z4 a' o9 A9 h9 L"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.

"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.

8 y' h' U  H) h7 q! Y( dSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
8 `# p) g5 [& Q$ Z# b# z
Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
$ N- P+ o& Y! ?$ w% x8 r# c
INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
# {" i$ W6 M$ M8 P/ o, m, N9 z
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.
' }, c1 }0 W1 Q4 l( p
# h0 l+ {8 {$ f2 L  \& eThe 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:
9 j% F4 N7 o3 L# t( Y& I9 D/ t有房的, 房子在贬值.
' z9 Y% R4 r& `" k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
2 q. t+ s$ `5 x1 a$ r# [: y现在是大家的日子都不好过:
* ~" J" S; B" F0 j, G有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

1 Q( _, s8 m- k9 u
- n5 C  _8 Q" s: i待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!