Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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" D9 F$ g* R& S: rRent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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- l" K0 X& |# b$ U  `  FBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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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.
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3 f- X( e: U9 t2 N, w7 p"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

SIX MONTHS LOOKING
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+ W+ o1 B. E/ q- q+ W2 z) \- UJasmine 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.

& G' A4 y; z" M  nThey 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%.
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The rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.

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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! X# l$ S- B9 F: s2 t# d1 F0 rRates 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.
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Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

7 }$ n* b+ X2 h6 n0 W3 z7 h8 s0 BMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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6 G! m6 J* U* l6 g* PWith 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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0 i) [" x. ?9 E2 h) }5 q"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.

/ P' r; I3 X2 _2 D7 c/ 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."

: e% H( K' W* ^2 h, {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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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.
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INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

3 U6 Z0 ]. U* e: X/ R0 ^Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.

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:
1 H8 s1 [2 x  S) B* x( _; o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:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

& E! \! P, M/ k2 y3 R+ ]5 a* P  ^待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!