Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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. S9 a- o4 O! @2 o! H( u0 RRent crunch to worsen
; U5 X  ~; e& p! R8 ?$ D# sVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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) u; N1 o& f% f- t! a& p, hThink 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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0 g/ ^: v  n' l; j/ r, @"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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SIX MONTHS LOOKING

! P  P1 H" ^( u3 l: s# k. }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.

  

For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

3 D8 J7 ^9 r0 Z" s8 T) x4 XThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

' I: o2 w( M. m+ m# W9 l0 p8 FAccording to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.

+ K2 P5 O" o# H. TThe 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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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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+ b4 I1 ?# |( ^8 N2 kRates 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.

( z4 z9 k9 D: k  N7 gMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.

4 g/ p* o3 @. Z1 w5 IWith 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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9 z( C; R$ j, y"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.

/ e+ _( H- l: xHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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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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0 x- w* |1 T4 y0 AHering 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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. V& t& y1 `0 h, e7 ~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.
) i, j1 ^; w5 m8 d1 O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
: Z5 M1 W2 u) c现在是大家的日子都不好过:
2 H5 [2 ]+ L) G7 O% J- K有房的, 房子在贬值.
6 T. \: d5 C; I; t没房的, 房租在上涨.

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待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!