Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
2 i- d6 D" j' p1 w7 i5 b- R9 XVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

7 [& f3 Y& }# \2 K- r: QThink the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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6 x3 A. y+ k8 ^- H9 |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.

: F% B' q5 g2 ~, S- G; [1 x' E"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

! W8 S+ O2 D5 V  ~* u3 mSIX MONTHS LOOKING
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  ~5 B/ D/ I" [! fJasmine 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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+ D7 @5 k1 y& y* r  K( {8 k" [: L! KFor now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.
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( Q' V! A! E  u2 dThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

9 K" F  X- I+ J0 R0 S# V3 {"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

2 [4 n/ t% W3 FAccording 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%.
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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.

7 }) E2 |  f* ^/ x+ ^Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

0 I* p( n4 g6 c. e8 Q"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

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.

4 s$ o% H# U. F* o  EWith 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.

5 y; J7 W7 U. s9 F% s7 Y9 ]$ K"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.

- R+ H: g9 Z4 k  C"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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  _8 b1 B9 I) V. y8 XOriginally listed at $450,000, in late August, she dropped her price to $400,000 to entice buyers. So far, there have been only lookers.

5 B2 a; ?- _8 M% _Schulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.

2 F, ?2 C7 d/ @# B! u, HHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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% f5 r8 O# ]. S) h' L! D"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.
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4 g0 w* i( i0 \9 C" |! S6 k2 h5 WHering 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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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:
  ?- T+ G7 u' u) l' p8 G/ Q4 r有房的, 房子在贬值.
; N" X* K- B/ L1 h. k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
0 e# [! K) L' ]6 G4 T现在是大家的日子都不好过:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
) ^9 G% n4 F# |' t没房的, 房租在上涨.

, w5 G$ b' W! c2 w3 @2 J8 @
! K( |* T) n& s# e待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!