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Sun, November 4, 2007
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! K6 h6 s2 i4 j+ B; CRent crunch to worsen" I4 |, {7 d# v$ S# d) C
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%% ~( I# R& I5 V! U' ]$ O6 R; O
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By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA6 S ]/ Q1 s$ E$ H' m
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Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year. ) B- t) P o! l' x
- }3 U, U. ]$ q1 K7 M: Q7 Z0 `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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- w0 Z9 e% f5 c"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed. # \" S0 K+ M5 s* |+ q2 M
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SIX MONTHS LOOKING
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) @! }! r3 {$ e- }3 F: `' P2 ~+ ZJasmine 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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For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit. , V- F5 u) g9 C% P5 e
0 A- v2 t k9 D, {, D' UThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100. 5 H, ?2 J0 Q! x$ o* X; Q/ B
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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. ) ]4 F3 Y& A4 o t9 \
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According to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%. # `& m W: V. a; s4 c9 A1 g4 ]
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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%. ) P1 ~ f# l, C
9 A- D9 z* R5 e; xA 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. * S- l& n* _/ ~6 l( t& \- i9 K
1 x0 {5 d) C! hRates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006. : d7 M: Y- J# R1 q+ Q+ _9 s" X
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"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own. 6 r% u ]5 w, I$ U, V$ m
) r& F& t! [' ^" y. c- r+ o' GWith 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. % q' S0 k; u* u I# L! x
7 L1 K8 b% Z3 [; s"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June. 7 [/ ^+ d9 t/ K7 e) h5 }
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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. - M8 g1 |( [) i- {+ v
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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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"The investors were causing the market to spiral." 6 O& B+ P. k5 E. m6 `
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Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in. * n+ q9 e e4 D r8 ?
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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. ; f) ?( r- O) R* `
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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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发表于 2007-11-4 20:11
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