Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

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

8 Y; r7 h+ U6 C' ]5 b$ o% jBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

+ b/ j7 u; q$ [  p1 a. M1 i) ?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.

7 s# G9 D3 f8 i: S  g2 }! d; w5 s"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.
! i' ?5 |) E& l& s$ X2 M! S- T' `
: `$ j2 k. q/ W+ C3 Z! i  

5 ]7 I7 f3 A8 G# AFor now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

' m8 U6 n# M& m  `  |They have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

) X' i4 A% y9 v( H"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%.
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( T% Q# L# E' aThe rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.

2 Z6 x$ O5 T9 D- @2 IA 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.
1 @  `. ]+ ?9 p& b; ]% o4 ?
Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

! z) Y0 m: }3 l7 C! nMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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4 n1 \, Z2 |% Y2 i  g2 |0 IWith 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.

- w0 h$ o; v! ?0 o4 g0 I. q"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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5 [; z, e' {' jSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.

Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

; s, p4 b. @3 @5 y0 UThose investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.
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0 d; f' e& v( uHering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices.
( i/ y  y) q  H% c* q6 Z9 o
/ P& I3 O/ O1 L& ~; M6 T/ X5 zThe 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.
9 S0 e1 r' o, [( |+ d7 ]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
- [: R7 {/ X0 ^8 q2 {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.

) e) }- e& @4 {/ n待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!