Sales in Hamilton-Burlington housing market tumble

Home prices in the region remain more than 30 per cent higher than November 2019

November saw home sales in the Hamilton-area housing market fall by more than 40 per cent from the same time last year.

The Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported Friday that sales in the region sank to 672 last month, marking a 13 per cent drop from October and a 42 per cent decrease from November 2021.

Year over year, sales of detached properties fell by more than 45 per cent, semi-detached homes slipped by more than 43 per cent, townhouses tumbled by more than 23 per cent and apartment-style properties plummeted by more than 50 per cent.

The average sale price for the region also sank to $808,928, marking a more than 11 per cent drop from last November but still 11 per cent more than 2020 and 31 per cent higher than 2019.

RAHB president Lou Piriano said while the cooling of Canada’s housing market has caused home prices in the Hamilton-Burlington region to take a tumble, the pace of the shift has “eased over the past several months.”

He did note that home prices remain significantly higher than those reported prior to the pandemic.

Piriano said while new listings in the region fell by 21 per cent last month compared to October, supply levels have seen “much-needed improvements.” There were 3.2 months worth of supply in November compared to 3.1 months in October. That calculation refers to the time it would take to sell the current level of inventory at the current rate of sales activity.

Last November, there was just half a month’s worth of supply on the market, according to the association.

Piriano said that increase in inventory has allowed “for more choice and negotiation power for buyers and the levels are more consistent with long-term trends” for the month.

In Steeltown alone, home sales in November fell to 425, marking a 44 per cent drop from the same time last year. The average sale price of a residential property in the city sank by nearly nine per cent to $761,244.

Year over year, inventory levels in the city skyrocketed by more than 221 per cent, with 1,278 residential properties on the market.

However, the number of days it takes to sell a home in the city also jumped to more than 28 days, marking a close to 134 per cent increase from last November.

Detached property sales in the city slipped by 46 per cent, semidetached homes sank by more than 55 per cent, townhouses tumbled by close to 14 per cent and apartment-style properties declined by more than 66 per cent.

Detached properties in the city saw the largest sale price decrease, falling by more than 11 per cent to $819,340, while apartment-style dwellings actually jumped by six per cent, up to $521,474. Yet they still remain the cheapest option on the market.

Supply levels in Hamilton hit three months’ worth in November, which despite being much higher than lows reported over the past few years, it’s still much lower than the record high of more than eight months set in 2010.

In Steeltown alone, home sales in November fell to 425, marking a 44 per cent drop from the same time last year