Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

& {: G& k9 ]9 S% p4 e5 sRent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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' q- R% N( c1 A0 h- M. f( Q: z: TThink the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

2 }/ X& I6 U: 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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- s9 b( Y  F- c! T  F1 b+ d6 b( Q"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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- ~$ T( Z' z8 k# OSIX 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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For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

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.
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9 f% H- h, j. i" y, u4 [% h% V& \; }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.
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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.
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5 P2 p4 Z0 d" x$ R8 |2 ?Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

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.
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/ d& p( z9 R; _' R" v"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.

3 P  J/ W' j! P) f# X) X  ASchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.

Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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* ~! j* j8 C- M* q  ]INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

2 p- c; E* p. t2 j4 H+ K9 x"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:
# y' n- ~  P/ h8 l; K. N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:
+ o" J: N* [9 E1 j  `0 x有房的, 房子在贬值.
* }4 s) \* p; n$ Y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!