Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

8 ~* j1 A4 s1 J+ eRent crunch to worsen
9 K: G6 @* F! Z! C5 x4 Y0 YVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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5 F: V5 s% f& B% L. N: G: ?& vBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

# Z# m1 t; u& ?' @' KThink the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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, O0 D! w: G; B8 qThat'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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5 r7 i: w9 \  e. N, E# t8 s" B  o"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

& T) i! Y, _4 B2 iSIX 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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' G0 L# b. N. C6 Y* b' E) _For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

/ V6 @4 e6 o" @They 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.

  H" o5 |- y1 d: e, s$ CAccording to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.

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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; |- R1 L' G0 AA 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 $877 a month in October 2006.
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"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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' D) K' h5 _# F$ WMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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4 r% x6 T% m6 s) m1 ]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.
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"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.

"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 K3 ~# F. ]$ wSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.

5 l; U$ ~1 C' o& F9 vHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.

& K0 t5 N" K7 ]1 z4 i# oHering 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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6 D1 j$ e* w: U8 G0 b( pThe 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.
  H" T0 U' Q/ w+ V' 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:
$ j. i' W! H5 g4 B有房的, 房子在贬值.
% T# A: z+ G: l; p2 H: K$ T没房的, 房租在上涨.

6 |* k6 C1 ~5 k# o! p# Z+ s待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!