The housing bubble needed to burst

Hamilton’s overheated housing market appears to be cooling. Whether that’s a good thing or not depends on your perspective.

Realtors, some of them at least, might not appreciate seeing decreases of more than 10 per cent in total listings for April this year compared to last. Fewer listings means less business, so you can hardly blame them.

And if you happened to have picked the last few months to sell, you probably had to wait longer and may not have gotten what you’d hoped for, certainly less than you could have gotten last year.

But overall, a return to a less-than-red-hot market isn’t a bad thing. It’s not as if resale prices are falling off appreciably. According to Royal Lepage’s most recent housing survey for the first quarter of 2018, the aggregate price of a Hamilton home grew by 11 per cent over last year to just under $530,000. Most housing types saw increases, with the notable exception of condominiums, which saw median prices decrease by 2.8 per cent to just under $330,000.

The end of the overheated market means the end of crazy bidding wars and sales thousands over the asking price. It means the return of sales with conditions attached, which should help inexperienced first-time buyers. A less panicked and stressed market is a good thing, at least for consumers. The torrid pace of last year wasn’t sustainable.

Over the long term, looking at the last decade, the housing market remains strong. Those fortunate enough to own homes are still looking at appreciating assets. The news for aspiring buyers is still not great, especially with mortgage rates rising. All in all, it’s still a robust housing market, with the pluses and minuses that entails.