Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007

Rent crunch to worsen
* F: {) R$ a* e6 b/ xVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

$ ~" K4 h2 S4 w/ j" l+ gBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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& H9 m* `7 E" n8 D3 zThink 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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7 w' H- e: k+ K: K- B* {"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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, h" ^% L1 L% b9 USIX MONTHS LOOKING
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* _  q' S& j# M8 \  YJasmine 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.

"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.

" x2 }" [- A3 |, o1 }1 K$ mAccording to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.

; H2 Q. u. Z; \& V1 R5 b5 BThe 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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; U2 A7 ]& w- o/ w( GRates are staying high with the average rent for two-bedroom apartments at $950 a month, up from $877 a month in October 2006.
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"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.

: V$ ~- z& I! @8 \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.

. ?/ m- E" v. C"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.

"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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' K2 k& E3 A, Z2 `2 g+ cOriginally listed at $450,000, in late August, she dropped her price to $400,000 to entice buyers. So far, there have been only lookers.

1 h) G0 ~1 g5 G1 }- hSchulte bought the house for $165,000 less than five years ago.
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; d" |. W2 N& L; ?Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
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* K) N3 K9 v6 x. E* O+ b" a# vINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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"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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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:
* y5 N8 s: `/ A* p* P有房的, 房子在贬值.
* X5 p0 t1 Z. i2 x9 h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:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

- ?. u3 `7 R+ [% p/ [待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!