Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
" ~$ B/ v. l8 {' _3 G6 o) o0 O3 f
Rent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%
3 N2 W2 L9 o. O7 m/ {8 T. W
By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA

Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
6 a; P, h' x  w
5 Q5 q' C5 Q/ F% UThat'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.
7 x$ ]3 @  j/ x, i( ]7 W7 }: r
, V3 s6 ?; O2 Q1 u"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

SIX MONTHS LOOKING
/ ^5 O8 F: }8 \( ^0 h; w
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.
( q) D" ?0 Z. x. j
  
$ w" Y1 w8 v8 Z
4 n! a& b7 Q% u- j0 [9 ~For now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

5 o7 x6 a- H4 e4 {They have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

; }# x+ H/ ]1 Z6 {) @. h2 @"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.
8 r, N8 h+ C6 i4 e* N
According to new numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate for Edmonton is a minuscule 1%.

$ t. y) J* ]0 E& OThe rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%.
% ]5 i  S; |* E7 k6 k5 g* ^
/ m/ C: q9 @9 c& T; TA 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.

% i6 y* W1 u2 i9 M"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
3 h4 N) Q3 J9 G1 h, i
Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
: T6 k- S; P" h; y5 `4 `1 ^/ U1 T
Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.
+ s) p9 s2 z% [8 d  \+ 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.
- K% `8 d. i, L: M
"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
/ q  i4 o; W, X
"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."

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.
! t4 f" p* l% }5 T3 a0 [
Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.
4 x6 \* Y- Z' g% a5 W5 E; ?  X
INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

" E+ ^" Y, J2 W) ~3 q) t% c: t"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

1 w7 N5 B- w$ q8 z+ YThose investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.

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.
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.
: Z" _- N* {( }5 v. B. n6 |没房的, 房租在上涨.

, W4 |4 U& ?! f; w
/ a* v# p" u" t" j: ^待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!