Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
9 Y+ C8 ~! Y! P' hVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

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.
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"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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SIX MONTHS LOOKING

# U" h: ~7 D" F- O/ [2 t. dJasmine 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 c  K. \  ]( `For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

$ ^; l  v+ l$ K7 @0 C, ^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.

) M4 ]5 P" T  v) C! u7 G, _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%.
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' @4 G6 ~3 V, P/ [, \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.

( {5 q! _+ A* Q  q"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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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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3 p9 [- m  d! i" ]$ X0 _( T" S* A"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."
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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.
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Schulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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2 c6 p9 L, i& z  Q7 yHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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3 J( D$ I, A+ l3 F' n4 |INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

"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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, ?5 y' o2 ~$ B+ n, a$ IHering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices.
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* t; Z+ k5 }3 @: H# V" f$ B( mThe 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:
5 P  [# q% u' l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
" a" j, M7 q; C8 N% z$ z现在是大家的日子都不好过:
2 O3 p8 X; l4 \4 ]有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

! x) J6 Z3 M$ ]! f3 ^" A% b- d
* ]! @# K& j$ H9 @: a待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!