Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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Rent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

2 l  ?+ i. p/ ~* XBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

. \9 Y' a# @. P4 xThat'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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+ ^7 D8 r! I% [+ P' T8 ?"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

SIX 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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: G6 R8 l1 w- k7 A4 {, D6 A4 ]9 aFor 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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% \1 Y2 n. b% y# p+ s0 l"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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, A' X1 L: r0 s+ i9 H7 F. D& gAccording 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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6 U6 O1 r/ Z/ VA 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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0 U6 i: C2 F4 F' [  FRates 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.

5 K. X* r& S. f; I% u; D8 f% cMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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+ N! m1 ~5 y' t* n* W& lWith 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.

' T  d  }9 Z" Y0 P" G  t! E+ N"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."

2 u4 e2 V3 ]% F$ o6 XOriginally listed at $450,000, in late August, she dropped her price to $400,000 to entice buyers. So far, there have been only lookers.
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2 v; `* m8 W; Z3 T1 w! n$ fSchulte 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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INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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4 q# {% U- S( a2 j! `8 l"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.
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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.

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:
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
3 f+ D, X0 q" W$ g) S& {: j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.

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待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!