Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
& ?, s0 `8 I9 a; o5 m7 J
Rent crunch to worsen
$ V6 ~6 J+ e; {Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
) V& }, X5 K) z" r
By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
1 t- f- U5 q* F5 a5 G2 \: d; y% R& a# W
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.
0 Z" D& y- ~4 X
"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
+ w& O  e$ F7 I
SIX MONTHS LOOKING

: X4 [5 D0 J1 ?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.

# M5 c# E, D* H  
; [( k! C# z! N! _6 F$ g
For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.
* _( P% t7 u2 |% a, H9 Z
8 l; V( d8 u. |They 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.

0 |* d$ h+ }1 F! ^$ E2 XAccording to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.
! e( _8 r5 h4 x' z9 O
8 m8 v! j' Y! N* U6 I6 rThe 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.

Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.
0 b% F5 w9 c/ y; w9 N
6 z* H- ?/ J) a  Y0 Z7 w"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

  w' y4 O" `4 \  z* ^$ H9 W) ]) GMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
2 f$ t+ Q% V8 ^2 E
Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
' e( t# c5 ?( x" P
9 B! `, h6 u6 Z& w& h% _/ H2 bWith 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.

/ _! |" ~2 U0 G+ a% a5 n5 P"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
0 M  E$ }* Y+ q$ 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.

1 N2 n' ^3 O1 _! E1 v" O5 t3 C+ `Schulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
* n) V# o. o% W+ E( Z
Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
7 o- \0 R; ]  n: P0 q) O
: E$ o+ G; Q; |+ B! S"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

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.

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:
& |- I+ K! m; b1 a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.

) |. |/ O, |. L' E! j4 h
待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!