Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
2 y. S; D- s9 h( |( M' \# S' lVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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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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, I1 l! _2 }; q; E* WThat'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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) y, ~1 o2 K$ U. w: y3 L  BSIX MONTHS LOOKING
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3 P! C) ?2 M  sJasmine 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.
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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.

9 ]( W7 m; l/ g* S* I1 kAccording to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.

The rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.

" M" S/ v+ S4 l. I* p+ ?  J. BA 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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8 k; [1 O8 @* z6 K. t" A8 O, G* BRates 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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4 F; U  d' D2 ^& OMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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, s+ \" K# S( V. _4 m. d9 u0 sMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.

+ t- l3 l6 a; \: C4 V- sWith 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.

$ y9 ~3 v1 r& z6 M"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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! [  c# x5 U/ R! m9 Y' j"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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' r! o/ E+ I, T- Y4 p+ eOriginally 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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Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

" T7 X8 h, W% ~& gINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

* k9 T4 [* D$ M; }2 dThose 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.

3 a. p. ?' D7 M! C* w$ jThe 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.
4 Y; e$ }' C/ J! F' _0 H+ q! f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
( \5 E4 q- a# Y$ ?! u. N现在是大家的日子都不好过:
0 F0 S( V' F$ @) W- s& d: A; C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!