The Hamilton Spectator

Hamilton’s housing market remains red hot

Prices rose 9.6 per cent since last June — to an average of $409,000

- STEVE BUIST

About the only thing hotter than the weather in Hamilton is the price of real estate.

But while temperatur­es will start cooling off by Friday, there’s no relief in sight for the city’s overheated house prices.

Second-quarter figures released Wednesday show that house prices in Hamilton rose by 9.6 per cent between June 2015 and June 2016, to an average of almost $409,000, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey.

Hamilton’s June-to-June increase was slightly more than the average hike of 9.2 per cent over the same period across the rest of Canada.

The price for the average Canadian home last month rose to $520,000.

Flamboroug­h house prices showed the sharpest increase, jumping by 26 per cent from last June to this June. The average sale price there rose to $735,000 from $583,000.

Across Hamilton, bungalows showed the sharpest price increase, rising more than 11 per cent to an average of nearly $371,000 last month. Two-storey homes rose more than 9 per cent to $428,000.

Condominiu­m prices across Hamilton took a step back, dropping 0.7 per cent from June 2015 to June 2016.

Joe Ferrante, president of Stoney Creek-based Royal LePage State Realty, pointed to the usual factors cited for Hamilton’s hot real estate market — the city’s proximity to Toronto for commuters, its diversifyi­ng economy and healthy employment levels, as well as low mortgage rates.

“The market’s performanc­e for rest of the year will be determined most by the availabili­ty of listings, which are being scooped in a matter of days as they come on the market,” Ferrante stated.

The average house in Hamilton now sits on the market for just 22 days, according to John Iannuzzi, president of Royal LePage Macro Realty in Stoney Creek.

Iannuzzi said a shortage of listings is helping fuel price increases.

“Right now, sellers are still in the driver’s seat,” said Iannuzzi. “Hopefully it becomes a more balanced market.

“I just hope that it doesn’t get to the point where it’s not affordable for the average person,” Iannuzzi added.

“Everybody should be able to afford a house to live in.”

A separate survey by the Ontario Real Estate Associatio­n shows that consumer confidence in the economy and the real estate market is growing in the Greater Toronto Area.

This year, 70 per cent of GTA residents described their city’s economy as good, up from 66 per cent a year ago.

Nearly 60 per cent of GTA residents also said they expect the real estate market in their city to be stronger next year, compared to 46 per cent who reported that a year ago.

Royal LePage’s national survey now forecasts house prices in Canada to continue rising at least through the end of the year.

“The prices cannot continue at the same pace they have been for the last three or four years,” said Iannuzzi. “It’s just not sustainabl­e.

“There’s going to be a moderation,” he added. “When that comes, I don’t know.”

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