Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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Rent crunch to worsen
$ ^! c6 H1 `( }* E1 bVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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8 e+ i3 L4 e! S4 e9 s7 vThink the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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/ r3 N! M4 R0 G* p# w4 [0 h7 jThat'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.

"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

8 J! k+ O  F% j0 p: o( c$ b2 pSIX 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.
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For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

% o  b6 v1 d0 ?7 v! o8 f2 N2 h. RThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

"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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2 W* g& V0 V. _$ _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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, t5 ~/ ?1 `/ l. \4 o$ {( u' c9 X( k: QThe rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.

9 j- {6 K' [+ n# U, kA 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.
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: R' \# S3 p! k. C% C"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

8 C' V: P7 u, P0 p: V% j! q# qMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

" x% T* n, z5 u/ `0 J# xMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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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.

7 i- T  A' q1 j2 p. {, A9 o"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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"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.

+ `2 A1 X: m* M  i' p* q+ TSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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( Q" ?. U( R$ W% \5 o"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

& n8 ?. e0 q" n5 |- E; H9 MThose 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:
2 _- p, Q$ j' A; o( B有房的, 房子在贬值.
& o% R' q+ A1 U6 l没房的, 房租在上涨.

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* F& O0 k  D5 M待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!