Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

6 M6 [3 @3 [+ LRent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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" F! y7 i2 G! g1 N$ r( VBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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0 m8 ~0 V3 v0 }. X9 u) cThat'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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" w6 G* q/ s. R+ P"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

( ~6 p# s# a; M* P6 Q7 f. P! O- FSIX MONTHS LOOKING

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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; l" i0 x2 c, y( M! WFor now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.
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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.
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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%.
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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.
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5 r; t6 `8 a7 B" \1 j& nRates 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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"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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6 l7 o6 b3 y1 p/ \" [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.

! o& C' U  a4 C% ^* K6 ?& I# \  n"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."

# B+ W2 S' ]1 x+ `/ nOriginally 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.

5 Q! c* s. ~: I* ~0 D+ XHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

# I6 x9 S" b7 ^+ O1 M+ K' JINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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& q9 T0 I( L) G9 \& g& V+ h9 |"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
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% K6 \; s8 `- y1 ~- d3 |0 @8 }. J2 v0 }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.

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
. K0 |5 ^. E" G( l. v' l现在是大家的日子都不好过:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
* Z: x/ \, [- Y; n* Y7 F没房的, 房租在上涨.

: E# B6 c3 ]# }& h( C" D3 m5 v
  i  N7 i- i" |待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!