Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
4 i9 v3 {; m3 g, XVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
. A8 @; ~4 M. h! ?
By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
3 z3 ]0 M/ F" H( u9 O: Q
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.
  G# G( u5 Q; i0 F/ l6 Z# _) T
"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

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.
; a6 X. j6 t) o
& y9 a5 @7 b3 J/ C  
8 ]& [4 A$ _! Q$ w0 h
For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.
/ m' i6 s) r" E1 ~9 ?7 q
5 ^! g( n% T& C& b8 F8 N- vThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

% t  g, d& |, G9 J4 R"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

4 s8 A, R+ T* j1 N4 [2 C, FAccording to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.
" C6 W" m8 G* l7 P0 H: P) a+ O
The rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.

, h* Z6 k0 }& e7 I$ l  V. H; t4 CA 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 r3 p9 ]& X" Y' N3 d2 lRates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

5 I$ i6 i0 {" Y# F5 Z0 ]"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
, R3 Q! }) B+ l/ \8 b6 i" E; U9 `/ D
Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
7 p" h, J4 U1 f! I$ p) \
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.

; Z* `# J# U% c! P+ I4 _"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
3 V+ f( c1 o+ c) `( h
7 ]# A4 }( m( _7 t3 O! Z; V+ w( R"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.

9 [+ s1 O5 h( b3 pSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.

Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
, m0 M" T. G$ h8 X6 `
0 s1 q2 ?3 X# _  ^INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
" S& p) w, H7 u+ P7 \0 q' H
# d1 \- p" m# D5 b; s5 {" SThose investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.
4 T( R7 q1 r0 l" ]
Hering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices.

" }9 I+ ^  }* H  V3 X( h$ Q$ UThe 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:
6 H/ C# V: ^$ e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
( X: L5 Z+ Z3 p- `现在是大家的日子都不好过:
" b  V3 Y: b$ h+ q# d有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

& B: I: [) T, U% U' h+ [& f- y
# B: f! ~2 n- e; E( W1 J  q待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!