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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/ N) k- a) Z- T; V4 `3 J) uThink the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

3 B6 N9 u( t. i; o1 FThat'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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" a; ?' ~2 V$ t  j"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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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.

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.
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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%.

. ?/ ?1 J4 r/ O% y' m- rThe rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.

4 V  P2 u* I! K- n( s  E8 k9 DA 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.

: s# \7 \' F) k! L$ ~"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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0 z4 d  V) U3 L' K) k7 ~Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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: F% J$ a6 M& i1 L$ a3 r4 DMeanwhile, 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.

# w4 Q9 j; D' \  Q) x* U"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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0 c# ^' |5 B6 M- i"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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" j+ h+ c  L; H- EOriginally listed at $450,000, in late August, she dropped her price to $400,000 to entice buyers. So far, there have been only lookers.

0 q0 L  e( q* B; }1 S+ xSchulte 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.
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INVESTORS 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.

3 b  m. O' G- ]* \# ^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:
4 p" |( u/ J. h- X有房的, 房子在贬值.
: }$ D" b# X. `, n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
) t5 }3 t# `/ n9 C现在是大家的日子都不好过:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
/ Z. I! y8 b7 J没房的, 房租在上涨.

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8 x# R1 @1 `7 \& k8 M2 h* j# Y待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!