Hamilton home sales among lowest in past decade: report

Home sales have slowed across the board in Canada, but Hamilton, in particular, saw some of the lowest March sales in the past decade.

According to the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) report for Hamilton, higher lending rates are contributing to some of the declines in sales, but there has also been a significant decline in new listings, which limits potential buyers’ choices.

In March, 928 homes were listed, a 40 per cent decline over last year and nearly 22 per cent lower than long-term trends for the month.

After two months of relatively strong monthly price gains, the unadjusted benchmark price in Hamilton eased slightly over the last month to $770,600 — a 22 per cent decline year-over-year.

Prices remain comparable to levels seen at the end of 2022 and are still well above pre-pandemic levels.

Trends across all property types were relatively consistent in March, as sales and new listings reported typical seasonal gains over the previous months. The only exception was apartment condominiums, with new listings much higher than long-term trends.  RAHB says this likely contributed to sales remaining slightly lower than we would typically see in March.

Row properties have seen unadjusted benchmark prices trend up for three consecutive months, reaching $649,900. Meanwhile, detached prices eased slightly to $820,600. Despite the slight ease, detached prices are higher than reported at the start of 2023.

Prices for apartment condos trended down for the ninth consecutive month to $466,700. Despite the declines, price adjustments have not been as significant for this property type, as year-over-year declines are just under 12 per cent — much lower than the over 23 per cent adjustment reported in the detached sector.

Despite new listings and sales trending up compared to the first two months of 2023, RAHB says it did not reflect typical inventory gains across all areas of Hamilton. Dundas, Hamilton West, and Hamilton Mountain reported a sales-to-new listings ratio above 70 per cent and saw inventories trend down compared to February.

Hamilton Mountain faced the tightest conditions in the municipality, with only one month of supply. Still, this is an improvement over the conditions at the same time in 2022.

Hamilton-Burlington-Niagara

The RAHB market area reported 1,031 sales in March — a 33 per cent decline over last year’s levels; however, activity is just slightly slower than what was reported in the area before the pandemic. Higher lending rates continue to weigh on sales activity, and new listings remain lower than we see in a typical pre-pandemic March.

Sales and new listing activity have increased over the past several months across the market area. However, RAHB says this did little to impact supply as inventory levels fell below two months.

“We are seeing our housing market shift back to activity more consistent with pre-pandemic levels and more stable pricing,” said RAHB President Lou Piriano. “While prices are lower than the highs reported in 2022, it is important to note that last year’s year-over-year growth was over 24 per cent.”

“Our market has experienced significant price growth since 2019 when home prices were still below $600,000.”

Buying conditions are also not as tight as they were last year. The shift in the market has resulted in more price stability and is much more comparable to the pre-pandemic market, according to RAHB.

The unadjusted benchmark price reached $835,800 in March, the third consecutive month where prices trended up. Prices in the region are still 21 per cent below levels reported last year but remain higher than levels reported in March 2021.