Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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Rent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

+ N& b4 \$ H9 @7 P" S5 z4 N3 rBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

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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' e$ a' ?( c+ m: X3 t1 _/ i"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

  S# f! p+ h8 D  z8 m- r7 i. z7 A" iSIX MONTHS LOOKING

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.

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

( x& a. {# Y/ E: R, n' V% m7 zThey 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.

, L& Z* ]3 z! p3 i8 Y; RAccording 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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8 g, Q# X8 l1 f. A( W$ R. O  c7 Q. a# rThe 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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Rates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.

/ m- t; l+ }- H3 b"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 Q# `' M1 e8 w+ I' o) oMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.

- p4 ^3 b& d1 i/ ]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.

* |# H" g/ I6 F* s7 K1 y8 V"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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0 B: ^) T  N2 |; o9 ^9 o% J"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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0 O5 R, K" X- c, S5 M7 g7 ?' wOriginally 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.

Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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' P+ g! O- w9 i; KINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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4 W3 B; u4 ]& G. }) R"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

( |" `* P) _) u- t8 c% qThose investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.
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Hering 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:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
& g1 |! I; |+ y) C+ z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:
0 Y% A; ]2 Z+ ~0 b4 [有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

* q) L* w- m8 h/ P1 t* c. R1 j待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!