Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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Rent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

3 t) g# V; j3 J5 ?Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

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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  J' y# O4 d5 ~& m& d9 C"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

7 K* s( Y* w) o0 VSIX MONTHS LOOKING
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) r! T" I" H8 [0 x( \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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- h" C! w( C& P) ]For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.
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They have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

$ N/ w) [1 }, j& B- q  W"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%.

$ u6 a. }1 s* n) g+ F* r8 {1 n" E+ VThe rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.

" |/ k" j$ ^4 u5 bA 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.

  b3 K+ R3 f1 M9 oRates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

$ A# Q* \# P% y% |9 @/ F"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.
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Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.

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.

2 B) y' ?, N5 i* @* k% L"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.

5 p4 @0 E8 g0 t# Q, R% i; v4 I" {7 M$ G"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."

0 ]& V; o" Z; LOriginally 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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2 q( Q8 ?) a; I9 n% B" yHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

2 s9 w& ]( _6 Z; N7 Y* }"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
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+ Q" r  E# z2 i  r: ?% F$ eThose investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.

6 G, b; a% r8 o5 [: j! fHering 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:
7 V* d/ p! _& A% C2 W% g有房的, 房子在贬值.
7 j3 L- g1 s( F! [5 R. A( F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.

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待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!