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Sun, November 4, 20070 ] ?% s5 o1 i! g5 w T
& {: G& k9 ]9 S% p4 e5 sRent crunch to worsen/ q7 f4 P& @# z& o6 ^" x9 g
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. ' M9 G' S% ^1 ^# R Q" @0 \0 x- C
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. ; V5 r* ~+ {: C3 L- n: X% l0 X' f
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For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit. ! m" e2 U' l* ]3 c+ g
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They have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.
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"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.
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9 f% H- h, j. i" y, u4 [% h% V& \; }According to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.
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The rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%. ! D; ?$ L7 ]" b* w$ O5 t7 k; u, S
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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 $877 a month in October 2006. 4 b1 ~, U9 Q# c8 v* o0 e
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"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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5 P2 p4 Z0 d" x$ R8 |2 ?Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals. 2 ]2 c: W1 ^+ `$ }! K
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Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own. ! q8 F' y' [5 m# [' U0 S
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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. 2 Z+ @% \' d5 C3 U
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"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." / f8 j; q% X2 _9 q! X
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Originally listed at $450,000, in late August, she dropped her price to $400,000 to entice buyers. So far, there have been only lookers. , M; [) V% b9 ^0 e7 }1 R$ ^
3 P J/ W' j! P) f# X) X ASchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago. 3 m2 U* K& k. _4 {
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Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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* ~! j* j8 C- M* q ]INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR % D# m( ~& q& I; E- T
2 p- c; E* p. t2 j4 H+ K9 x"The investors were causing the market to spiral." : P9 r+ Y4 U% b P5 y9 P3 L) R
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Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in. ! l% J8 X# _3 _$ s7 p+ \3 v5 p
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Hering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices. 8 S+ [6 {% N+ ]; b4 X
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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. |
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