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Sun, November 4, 2007( }" A) E8 n: y$ z, @, s
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Rent crunch to worsen
. z c5 W- g5 }& H% QVacancy rate forecasted to dip to under 1%( N7 i9 p, n* A- @/ Z. ?
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By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
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Think the rental market is tight now? Just wait until next year. & ?; r* J9 `+ ~1 o# R
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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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"It's just getting retarded," said Jasmine, who asked her last name not be printed. : _" E- L, x6 Z
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SIX MONTHS LOOKING ' y6 `* e4 j* q3 N3 [) I% h; f
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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. ( I2 b9 N$ r* K5 M' e- }
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They 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. 2 q% s. w! p- G
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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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# h: ]& h6 G+ c( q6 `4 @The rent crunch isn't expected to get any better with the agency pegging the rate next October at just 0.8%. : x5 ^* s( C3 U0 p- y
/ J7 s- H2 |) s* e0 ?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 $877 a month in October 2006. 1 G4 v6 c, ?6 S+ X+ Y1 w
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"With the rental rates being so high, you can only do so much," said Jasmine.
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/ d9 x# k. z2 NMaking it worse, she has pets, and few places accept animals.
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1 h Y: B, E8 W$ v; J, yMeanwhile, house sellers are facing a crunch of their own. ! v4 B7 g) ]0 `0 M* M8 A6 L
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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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) V# U* h9 Z% q3 i2 C* }"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." ! r: b% d, {& x1 a# ^
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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. . W" `# @5 U3 j/ w# A
5 m6 R1 q% q% L+ t6 {1 rSchulte 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.
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; m) D- |" f; y0 _, N! z6 N" |INVESTORS A HUGE FACTOR / p+ @2 r& P0 w# p1 S
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"The investors were causing the market to spiral." 8 Q- I# n. N/ H' E3 T
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Those investors have left the market, leaving mostly people looking for a home to live in. ! B. }, g9 g9 b
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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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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. |
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发表于 2007-11-4 20:11
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