Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
" r0 W% ^8 `8 m7 J8 l" V, xVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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0 B6 a! ^3 e; o* f9 G+ ZBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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That'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.

6 o+ w4 g  ~- W2 \* W/ }"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

SIX MONTHS LOOKING

/ g+ E; P' E. s9 Z2 I' KJasmine 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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9 H) R+ l) e& Y0 ^0 aFor now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.
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. m' a, M4 t* d6 j- s0 XThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

"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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! Q+ e6 l. Z4 M, }$ w5 ^6 z4 w: nAccording to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.

8 [7 \' m- ^% X+ U1 W; p$ IThe 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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( }3 f) L# a8 I4 cA 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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/ a5 O7 X2 z! ?6 A  x6 \) O# Z"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

  D8 U+ i/ m5 C) q  n5 MMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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$ J' ^" ^2 ^& X( w# c1 o$ d8 k8 nMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
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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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- C4 Y# j( S! ?$ \/ m"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.

0 h2 e( P" Y7 i. w  w* jSchulte 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.

INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

: z7 y; t& N- _/ B  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.
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  i: f) a6 d% D$ K+ J6 ^5 QHering 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
现在是大家的日子都不好过:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
: X& G  V( J; b3 p0 O5 u8 `没房的, 房租在上涨.

3 t+ O4 E; N9 J5 d2 r待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!