Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

, H# q* ~+ ~  z& v! o9 i/ ?) RRent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

! B9 \0 F2 `0 o' Y9 \, n% fThink the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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, ~8 _5 Q4 b2 b2 W4 J3 r2 r3 oThat'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.

  Y* ^; F& O9 U- D# d7 f# e1 s"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

2 ^! k+ U. x5 ~. S9 m4 s! ]SIX MONTHS LOOKING

( Y) e3 d0 h9 \3 {) T+ ]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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" S: [; r6 {1 I) ?4 k) j3 S0 oFor 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.

2 c5 t* X/ f/ w% d"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

& x; s& X- \( 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%.
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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.

$ q4 T2 o( y2 `  l7 s9 `Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

5 H! o- e9 Y$ r$ g. z"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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6 F  y& [1 |! ]2 G1 xMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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# j6 R- i. x! ^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.
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"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.

2 D2 X8 m7 c/ _) y7 X6 o"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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' K5 j# T6 T- O) b  {9 R) dSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.

2 t, m# {( f* P# S) C9 `# o5 zHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

/ q! q$ W3 D2 G: HINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

; J4 t- k8 G, c  {$ ~+ U' Z"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

- t0 O- p$ H/ r% h1 U+ l7 p, W: RThose 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.
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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.
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:
+ N0 x+ _- H2 m7 Y+ l% W5 o- K, ]有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

: b( n. @. s, f$ _1 c( t5 g/ I
+ T2 T5 W6 d* Q0 h. d0 v# j: T+ i待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!