Latest numbers show Hamilton housing market heating up

Scarce supply is making the port city’s real estate market a more intensely competitive one, according to the Conference Board of Canada

May 2016 figures from the Conference Board of Canada showed the beginnings of a rapidly intensifying housing market in Hamilton, with the port city seeing a 10 per cent year-over-year increase in home prices (up to $478,613) and a sharp 20 per cent year-over-year drop in the number of listings.
 
In its latest report, the Board noted that Hamilton home sales value has been growing at a per annum average of 9 per cent over the past few years, as reported by CBC News.
 
“It's a hot market down there, there's no doubt about it,” Board senior economist Robin Wiebe said, adding that the 10 per cent year-by-year decline in sales volume has not slowed down the market any.
 
“Volumes on the sale side are really good by historic standards, but listings have not kept pace with sales. That's why the market is so tight,” the economist explained.
 
As of May, approximately 17,700 listings are up in Hamilton. To compare, the record low point currently sits at 14,520 units (January 1999).
 
“[There's] no immediate sign of the market cooling,” Wiebe stated.
 
The Board’s report predicted a 7 per cent increase in Hamilton home prices in the near future, foreshadowing even greater struggles for a purchasing public that is already dealing with the increasingly unaffordable Toronto market.

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