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%

% i, d. ]* |8 \3 R& WBy KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

" y/ a7 t: E9 K7 ^5 y% l* ZThat'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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"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.
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6 T/ m" e6 E! m0 _8 ZSIX MONTHS LOOKING

7 i  }$ {6 y2 p2 O4 S7 HJasmine 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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! C5 _) S# ]' t3 n/ O% pFor now, the couple has been living with her brother and mother in a three-bedroom government-subsidized housing unit.
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3 H0 A! i9 o6 J, H, FThey have been scouring the city for anything - but have found nothing in their price range, around $1,100.

: f1 _5 n  v9 }6 m3 n"I graduated from college, but I'm still working two to three jobs just to supplement the rent payments," she said.
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5 L9 Q0 ^0 Y$ wAccording 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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4 N+ r2 ^) B9 K5 ]: J4 uThe 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.

& F2 A" s% E4 ]7 j' Y8 ]7 dRates 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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" w0 T0 v9 z0 Y* @! m1 G* yMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

Meanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own.

7 a8 m) Y' v3 V  T4 G: U+ D  Z" UWith 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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"It's been slow," said Alana Schulte, whose Goldbar home has been up for sale since June.
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: v# F: r, \6 k" T"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.
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Home prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

) u9 m+ r- q* `3 @) V2 Y2 u. A# lINVESTORS 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.
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3 ]" R& }8 m$ n8 R, h$ O' _; yThe 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:
* U% S) _. d4 I% n# m有房的, 房子在贬值.
$ H' M; L. c5 Q% u6 T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:
: Y3 Z+ H2 t, t! A1 K2 N2 n有房的, 房子在贬值.
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!