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%

- L8 n- z. |( {8 U9 [By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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! q( S1 C" N9 q: I' Q8 KThink the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year.

5 [/ M( D* _/ n' ^* {8 FThat'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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, q; |% S' H0 F! n" h: f"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed.

+ J+ B2 J: t& T) f/ G8 _$ }SIX 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.

" M- o) ^4 `) G" K8 T; h' G3 SThey 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.
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According 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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* A8 K! g/ U7 b' J! y8 |1 F( a8 JThe 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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Rates 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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Making it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.

4 ?- u' O2 `& o% \2 tMeanwhile, 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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"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."

8 }' d( @, q* p3 m5 zOriginally 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.

' K6 S2 r4 b* }" Z: CHome prices skyrocketed because of investors buying up properties, said realtor Abe Hering.

2 o# r( e% }% R% g/ RINVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR
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( Y3 O# E) \% E"The investors were causing the market to spiral."

. f0 P! H( W+ u3 A% _$ t  m+ T% w. vThose investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in.
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' q4 R! ^- ^( l' n5 QHering 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:
/ ^* L: ~# X8 i7 X$ Q! a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:
% J  U1 x2 G  Z" }) x; h有房的, 房子在贬值.
没房的, 房租在上涨.

1 b" @8 T" {" N
2 G: u3 s! w/ w2 D待不住了，还有一个字“走”。

YOKO

Don't be sad!