Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

( x) N4 B4 H" n; t% gRent crunch to worsen
Vacancy 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.
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. }9 @1 z+ l5 w1 B' |7 v# p) NThat'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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$ L' [0 T8 P( k+ t"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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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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; }* N6 a* m. UFor now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.
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& ]7 v  ?* `+ e5 g" L$ sThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.
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"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.
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According to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.
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The rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.
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! h8 J0 Z$ M5 o* pA 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 $877 a month in October 2006.
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"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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+ y$ ~  U! C% b; G) B2 i8 OMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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8 k8 X! R( x3 c: {0 Q( u, NWith 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.

* B/ ~+ z: c9 y1 I"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.

3 X+ H, f  {% @8 e( Y' ?8 _"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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; a2 L+ d& U9 f& b4 L4 COriginally 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.

Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

5 D* x* ^, P* }/ X0 MINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
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) E' J4 R. B" k& ?( UThose investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.
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& s- m- z! H$ |8 C8 i* PHering 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. X- s$ E  f1 X现在是大家的日子都不好过:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
0 v  _  i$ f4 p! z/ b/ J没房的, 房租在上涨.

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待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!