Rent crunch to worsen

YOKO

Sun, November 4, 2007
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$ M" q2 N" i  ~4 I) JRent crunch to worsen
Vacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%

By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.
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. }, H- A( z9 }/ E& b& h& dThat'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.

' A0 c) ]2 X! v- N7 y: USIX MONTHS LOOKING

; [$ A  V' c2 B! t8 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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5 P4 U8 V" \; V% k+ Y- \6 w/ p- gFor now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.

" L' N4 l: z6 N/ b: X& l0 M4 q% rThey 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.

- R. q' W. m2 n# ?# t* NAccording 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%.
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6 e7 q# P3 M! w% OA 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.

9 z) F5 W3 Y' n6 w/ |4 o4 ?, A2 ORates 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.

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.
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/ \1 U. u* @; u& v# I$ M"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."

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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7 B, K9 w' J& Y$ fINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR

"The investors were causing the market to spiral."
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# ?& o* P9 M, m7 tThose 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:
. D' \# z( K; i; g# Y& C5 a  a! {有房的, 房子在贬值.
) v4 d  s. G7 P& m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
& z8 `$ S7 D( I% d) u1 B4 h2 L! a现在是大家的日子都不好过:
有房的, 房子在贬值.
6 v$ l/ A# k1 S4 T没房的, 房租在上涨.

6 P) W. b, a7 B& [* z$ w
待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!