Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
& |' N& }, y! k1 Q4 {Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

7 f. P3 w. D0 d! j+ l1 Y( oBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

7 B! y3 k' ?' M. Q, H/ P9 ^* {% {Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

# M" W, }! i) Y/ k3 y# O7 ^) v5 _! k# PThat'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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"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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( C! m1 k; b- g+ @# PSIX MONTHS LOOKING

7 Y. H- t, `6 z; r& rJasmine 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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$ ^( I! v/ i+ E: A4 `For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.
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- M  g! P/ n5 n' BThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.
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' l8 U3 z6 U& a8 `) C! }"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.
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; p* @2 |4 M, k$ u4 W. W3 |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 $877 a month in October 2006.
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0 u" c8 F  r" O* u5 ?"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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$ y$ ]+ V& E/ RMaking 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 B" ]) g' c9 _/ rWith 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.

( n# p4 r! i) |. ]6 C7 _, X"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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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."

3 I& ?; Y: w; wOriginally listed at $450,000, in late August, she dropped her price to $400,000 to entice buyers. So far, there have been only lookers.

Schulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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: E4 Q7 j2 C7 E" q& Y5 ~* p& YINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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* Q8 b4 L: ~9 C7 ]: K; \8 V3 E"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.

1 Y1 T6 c2 }8 m. p7 n, `3 r- 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:
4 d$ V( o/ _) X/ P- U$ w有房的, 房子在贬值.
8 i0 `3 i& t  ?# O6 K7 O& T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.

3 q  `* ?" s/ w: x4 T$ J" I待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!