Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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% y! u5 }1 l; [4 r% A+ c/ vRent crunch to worsen
" w, K% v* Q9 s; T' I2 VVacancy 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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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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" B4 O+ \* J2 x" M" F4 v, q"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

3 Y: T& Q, r: H- U0 t: c$ s+ PSIX MONTHS LOOKING
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0 _) y' f+ h  e! f* DJasmine 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.

# u" O0 Z$ O9 A# O1 WThey 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.

5 _2 L4 t8 N5 U* h5 tAccording 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%.
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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.

Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

"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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7 m) c) \- o) K, T7 k( fMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.

5 t; j' z: J6 G4 \, 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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1 Z) S' b0 G! \7 d5 z"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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# b' T  z7 \; _"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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/ P. l/ z% a$ POriginally listed at $450,000, in late August, she dropped her price to $400,000 to entice buyers. So far, there have been only lookers.

" \$ @% V8 M) a& l1 QSchulte 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.

INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

1 a( {  n% W) w"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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$ `2 a% K% F3 sHering 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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4 F" a6 [/ {3 z1 X3 qThe 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
现在是大家的日子都不好过:
: `6 Q1 b8 T) M! W' @! a* O# U" K有房的, 房子在贬值.
3 _; Z0 \# T) `* d8 V: N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!