Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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Rent crunch to worsen
6 g# M5 u4 {# q3 sVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
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By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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- T$ m2 D" |, |& I" c0 X/ aThink the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

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.

"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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SIX MONTHS LOOKING
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7 T4 ~( q, ^0 A: a' x( b7 TJasmine 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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& A; z8 H) w3 [" oFor now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

: L, U1 Y- |: \  v& m, Z" XThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.
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" K' \7 v  _' ?( P"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

) V8 `( r7 V5 q$ s. B# G0 b$ jAccording to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.

6 P6 h' Z$ N' A4 ^2 eThe 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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; o! b3 B5 j/ V1 y" dA 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.

; s5 B) r$ e0 c, \  \+ d/ ~. A. rRates 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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9 y3 ~9 j' V5 t: E6 D+ Z; |/ }1 B) xMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.

& ]7 b1 P  G0 L. ]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.
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  W, ]9 }( J1 b2 {3 ~, m" n- `"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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"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.

Schulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.

Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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1 t* p/ z: B+ ^INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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' b2 T. ]+ W0 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.

9 M( \; ~6 I# B# e6 W* {! y6 oHering said there's just not enough of them to cause a real frenzy and they're often nervous about the high prices.

& a2 [/ B0 i. G; h5 |& AThe 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 Q' H; I% b( c% c有房的, 房子在贬值.
+ P# i1 H$ G6 p9 N) X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!