Hamilton house prices up 5.2 per cent

Surveys show rent prices also up 14 per cent, median one-bedroom rent at $1,110 a month

A Royal LePage survey shows Hamilton median house prices are up 5.2 per cent from a year ago to $571,157.

Nationally, the real estate company says the median price of a home in Canada increased 2.2 per cent over a year ago, to $625,499.

A Canadian rent report meanwhile, ranks Hamilton the 12th most expensive rental market in the country — with the monthly price of a two-bedroom apartment up 14.1 per cent over a year ago. Hamilton housing prices, when broken down by housing type, indicate the median price of a two-storey home is up 5.2 per cent to $606,671, according to Royal LePage. Bungalows are up 5.1 per cent to $509,384 and condominiums rose by 8.9 per cent to $344,422.

Despite the price increases, Hamilton realtor Joe Ferrante says the city is moving toward a more balanced market.

Ferrante, with Royal LePage State Realty, says demand has picked up as the shock of new mortgage stress test rules wears off and Toronto and new immigrant buyers continue to look at Hamilton to buy.

“There’s still a great deal of affordability in Hamilton,” he says. Not all areas of the city have fared as well when it comes to median price increases, Ferrante added, but said that, for the most part, they’ve all shown an increase. The price increases and the new challenges in qualifying for a mortgage have also made the condo market more attractive to millennials, he said.

“Young people who can’t necessarily afford the down payment on a single family home are starting to show more interest in new condos, and that’s increasing prices.”

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) meanwhile, shows different figures for housing sales, with the median price of a home in Hamilton at $475,000, up 10 per cent from the its figures a year ago. Median means “in the middle” and in this case, it means exactly half of the homes sold are above the median price and half below. The CREA’s average house price — not the median price — in Hamilton is up 2 per cent over a year ago at $501,201. But the average price figure can vary and be greatly influenced if unusually high end — or conversely lower end — properties sold in a particular period.

On the city’s rental scene meanwhile, one- and two-bedrooms are renting monthly at median prices of $1,110 and $1,430 respectively, according to the Oct. 2018 Canadian Rent Report at blog.padmapper.com