Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

0 r3 S/ B; q% C/ ]/ R) {- RRent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

8 E, v- R  v" ?7 hBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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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.

  |9 z2 `7 u; _, X* D"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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SIX MONTHS LOOKING

7 D( a# O( ?! q( e& z+ N. QJasmine 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%.

% Q' q( d1 E$ PThe 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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2 g, j: }+ x% a" W& @3 N+ K$ e: V* ^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.
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Rates 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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" s. g: g2 H7 j& x! E- W"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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+ g4 }) j3 Y, V8 o# k7 B0 FMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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6 v" `7 d% A0 L8 l; K" y' `! RMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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5 t+ p# O  X) U  i  r8 Y+ U, vWith 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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0 K! Q5 o2 L9 ]* V  ?. B( Z"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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3 n, N: t6 k4 N; |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.

Schulte 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.

' C+ G3 J, w8 X. IINVESTORS 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.
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2 s) I+ m1 k. p8 G# \3 p/ yHering 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
) }$ P& W, l, O9 n现在是大家的日子都不好过:
) n. K1 [9 v! B* O& I' _有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!