Don’t look now Toronto, but Hamilton just topped $1 billion in new construction
TORONTO — Construction activity in the city of Hamilton has reached $1 billion worth of construction in 2017, at the fastest pace in its history, as Steeltown continues to prove itself as an affordable alternative to Toronto across the real estate spectrum.
Hamilton says it hit $1,003,737,444 on Sept. 29 based on 6,606 building projects in the residential, institutional, commercial and industrial sectors. It was the seventh and sixth consecutive time over the past eight years the city has hit the billion dollar mark.
“This record-setting pace of development is further evidence of the continued boom that Hamilton is experiencing,” said Jason Thorne, general manager of planning and economic development with the City of Hamilton.
The $1 billion of activity through nine months of 2017 compares with $797,117,186 in 2016 for the same period of time and $844,597,780 in 2015.
Hamilton’s housing has been booming as people priced out of Toronto continue to look for affordable alternatives. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. has singled out Hamilton as one of five markets with strong evidence of overall problematic conditions.
The city has been impacted by Ontario’s 16-point plan to create affordable housing, including a 15 per cent tax non-resident speculation in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, an area that is home to nine million people and includes Hamilton.
The Canadian Real Estate Board reported in September that the average sale price of a home sold in the Hamilton-Burlington area was $580,195 over the first eight months of year, a 20 per cent increase over the same period a year earlier. By comparison, the average Toronto sale price was $846,379 over that same eightmonth period, a 16 per cent increase from a year ago.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said that as of the end of August, 2017, Hamilton has had 1,852 new construction starts which is down from 1,926 a year earlier. There were 1,669 completions over the first eight months, which is up from 1,233 a year earlier. The average single detached home price that has been absorbed into the market climbed to $706,735 from $553,582.
City officials say the record level of construction is beyond just the housing sector and crosses into commercial activity.
“What stands out in 2017 is a positive trend with regards to the industrial and commercial sectors. For example, Hamilton is seeing an over 200 per cent increase in industrial construction value growth compared to the threeyear average. This is a significant move in the right direction towards more of the overall city budget coming from the non-residential taxpayer,” said Glen Norton, director of economic development with the City of Hamilton.