Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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' s! I7 Q& _, ?" [By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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# E' r+ n  G& n2 O3 ^2 u- p  N0 ]Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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. ~+ }& v: f/ s# }/ m$ W3 |, Y2 IThat'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 X) m, W+ e- D. w2 e$ H- G"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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7 T/ n3 D7 f2 T9 U: ASIX MONTHS LOOKING
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, z+ J6 o, Z; |6 K+ VJasmine 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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; }5 X) A1 @; R: @# r! R0 GFor now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

5 Z* [0 _( n4 L, ^" u" R+ lThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

0 e9 N" `8 Q7 z0 i0 O3 h: P"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%.

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.

"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

1 ^6 F) C0 O/ T1 ~* e% z: G: _Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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: P8 C7 L  X. |& X" Z3 vMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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$ |; X, L7 Z7 E  J4 `) j/ X/ uWith 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."
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Originally listed at $450,000, in late August, she dropped her price to $400,000 to entice buyers. So far, there have been only lookers.
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+ Q8 {$ x2 {3 R' D* HSchulte 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 c% @, w# _' E& [$ f2 j! jINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

"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.

) ?, T, X0 I; q5 l6 MHering 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:
0 B! Z4 {  |1 _* R( ^有房的, 房子在贬值.
9 e: u- ?( |- {4 c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:
8 c* u3 r  V8 r" e2 Q5 m6 t有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!