Housing prices jump 17 per cent in red hot market
Average cost $457,452 as values continue to rise
A new survey says Hamilton real estate prices have jumped 17.4 per cent over the past year, and local realtors say the market shows no signs of cooling down.
The Royal LePage House Price Survey comes at a time when the provincial government is considering measures to quell out-of-control prices that could include a speculation tax on home purchases by non-residents.
But local realtors say it’s unclear in the Hamilton market whether it is being strongly influenced by non-resident speculators and if it would benefit from the tax.
“I frankly doubt the province has very much capability to cool things off,” says Lou Piriano, the president of the Realtors Association of HamiltonBurlington.
“In my 44 years in the business, the only two things I have seen that can cool the market effectively are interest rates climbing and unemployment rising, and we don’t seem to be in for either one of those at the moment.”
He says the reason the market is out of control is because of a lack of supply of houses.
“There has to be some land made available to alleviate the pressure and
it is going to take some time, which is why I don’t see anything happening very quickly.”
The Hamilton results — which placed the average price at $457,452 — compare to Greater Toronto Area that had a 20 per cent increase with an aggregate average of $759,241. Toronto itself clocked in at a 17 per cent increase with the average price being $763,875. Results were not available for Burlington or Grimsby.
“Speaking with my colleagues, I don’t know anyone who thinks the market is cooling down,” says Piriano.
This is how aggregate numbers in Hamilton in the Royal LePage first-quarter survey break down:
The median price of a two-storey home increased 17.8 per cent to $480,279;
The median price of a bungalow increased 15.2 per cent to $409,360;
The median price of a condominium increased 23 per cent to $343,421.
“I’m going on 23 years in the industry and I’ve never seen price increases like this,” says Hamilton real estate broker Joe Ferrante.