Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

By 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.
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' Q# z, d# y% E! `$ x* U8 ?"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.

  

% j, k3 W, x: q4 h/ W0 P2 T+ X1 sFor 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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3 m; \$ v: B; h3 C8 M* v& h" c"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

: V# ?7 X  C5 V, b% z* A  \4 uAccording to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.

- E1 R7 z: I; O. x# r8 yThe rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.

+ G- f/ M( Z  f: g9 `; ?$ R1 wA 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.

  r1 y9 U7 w$ @# y' l+ PRates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

$ P! `# |* @" `% y. R; P' G"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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$ C8 P5 c9 z& C% u" z" Z  w( h( @; rMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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Meanwhile, 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.

  `2 Z: u+ V! T) u9 I6 |0 o"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.
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Schulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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0 J+ c) E  M: f+ `( ZHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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$ P$ @5 L! e! L* f4 j- fINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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"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.

Hering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices.

1 j% a- ~, y% ~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:
# H# i" }4 P6 A' l$ B% T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
7 s, Y) S7 S% G. K0 F* G' C# h/ \9 R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.

待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!