Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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9 _% U, s4 a0 k' bRent crunch to worsen
& [& i+ R+ K& b! w' `& IVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

/ B- R! @( i- ~5 z) d+ J' 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.
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" m6 |2 W9 M; |* [. R"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

SIX MONTHS LOOKING
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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.

  V- X. j8 b4 TThey 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.

1 [! w* f& E* o+ Y/ `, h0 f! j2 fAccording to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.

1 o' U5 ^. a; M8 LThe 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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) S8 U5 [- h* C6 [6 I: P* c/ FRates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

/ C5 t! C+ }. U+ R2 C& m. _"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

/ ~5 g) @$ s+ x1 s( G. b, [Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.

4 o6 H" Z2 Q  K/ j/ o) J7 _5 GWith 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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; M- ]2 a1 Z/ e. ~4 h"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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# d9 h. G/ H% A# f9 C2 g3 _Schulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.

& v6 a7 o' H0 a; w  SHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

$ w1 c2 }  ]% Q" Q' O& s9 f"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
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Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.

' {- _) w& I0 lHering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices.

+ O1 R6 }0 j3 ^. f7 x, {- C! TThe 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:
' b3 E) o3 c# F! q" o7 w有房的, 房子在贬值.
2 p! p: R8 I; _$ L  h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
$ }: N$ m; L/ j/ ?+ r' Q& \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.

" x4 P/ U' }7 ~+ a* L4 V, L3 ~2 ]待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!