Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

* p" M1 l6 S; p% R6 `Rent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

4 I0 H% J" V1 Q2 [% ?By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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8 {5 u. r* |. @8 W- |* q7 B. B5 }Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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! a5 c8 F) a4 ?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.

5 \8 x# v! H1 J' ?- e+ J' F"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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SIX MONTHS LOOKING

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.
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2 ]- n- D1 }8 T+ f6 WThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

4 y3 ]* B4 S* V"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

' j7 f1 G; K9 f; A- c: B( N5 GAccording 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%.

6 o. u) u7 s5 r1 j: ?7 }5 oA 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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+ Q3 q- Y: o0 h" \. D" q7 C6 pRates 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.

7 {/ S# }- }; \. n* \/ C& T* C. RMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

4 z8 x% @2 j6 ]' e3 P& Y7 y5 EMeanwhile, 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.
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- U4 h: i' m9 R$ p" M"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.

3 R9 U4 y0 O. S* P0 G+ KSchulte 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.

INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
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1 m/ \" G& r! EThose 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:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
. {' ^1 @; ^$ s$ U" J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 K2 z( o7 M5 |( W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.

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! [) B# z: E* v5 l! `0 r待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!