Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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Rent crunch to worsen
; G, Q5 L/ S' }Vacancy 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.

* Y' M; q% t4 M! r$ s( ~2 P7 _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.

0 V3 M/ Y8 [& F- G& N"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

SIX MONTHS LOOKING
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! U6 j- V5 e" 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.

They have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.
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) A* D5 E9 [0 W* Y. T"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

0 t6 c, ~$ b' E3 hAccording 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%.

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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; I6 M$ T6 h6 E/ d& x" JRates 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.

; ]) b$ m* d1 g# Y: ^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.

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.

* E/ ]  t) {0 v4 D1 x  m5 O' c"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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! n5 r+ w. y' l& s8 s& k4 W% \"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.

# r: C& e2 |: i+ z" [Schulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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/ ]" [( Y' d5 D$ ?( ~Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

7 W  D$ `+ Z/ }"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
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/ c3 b, F' m$ c! g6 W1 qThose investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.

+ I4 I" Q/ ]0 `' C/ T* aHering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices.

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:
" d8 i8 F3 t& h* E* j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:
- y/ q* g7 e7 i6 \/ o) j8 z有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

, Y( d% K" x6 @) t
- s( t' A* r* T& T待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!