Saturday 17 June 2017

Market Snapshot: June 4-10

Local MLS® Sales Data
All Hamilton Real Estate Districts Combined*


Total Sales: 231
Average Price: $453,466
Median Price: $437,000 
Avg Days On Market: 16

Average price varies by district. Call to discuss sales data for your specific area. 

*Ancaster, Dundas, Glanbrook, Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Waterdown

Tuesday 13 June 2017

Listing inventory growth continuing so far through June

Everyone's wondering what's happening with the local real estate market these days, especially after a [record number of new listings in May]. 

Looking at listings commencing June 1-10 in the Hamilton* districts of the local MLS® system, there have been 587 new listings entered.. That's a 29% increase over the same ten day period last year.  Not as dramatic as the spike in May, but still considerable.  Meanwhile, sales in the same time frame are down about 18%, from 388 in 2016 to 316 in 2017.  Increased supply and reduced demand means more listings on the market - at least in the short term.

This is pretty preliminary of course, and there's no guarantee that this will hold up long enough to be called a trend.  But it is interesting to see that the listing inventory growth is at least extending past the end of May.  As always, I will be watching for the official stats at the end of the month to see if things are still heading in this direction.

For now, I'd say buyers can be cautiously optimistic that the market is starting to head toward some balance.  But even if it does, it's likely to remain a sellers' market in the near future as we recover from a long term listing shortage.

* Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Glanbrook, Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Waterdown

Friday 9 June 2017

Market Snapshot: May 28-June 3



Local MLS® Sales Data
All Hamilton Real Estate Districts Combined*


Total Sales: 247
Average Price: $513,938
Median Price: $485,000
Avg Days On Market: 12


Average price varies by district. Call to discuss sales data for your specific area. 

*Ancaster, Dundas, Glanbrook, Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Waterdown

Monday 5 June 2017

Record Listing Numbers in May 2017

The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported a record 3,208 new listings were processed through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in May, which is 41.1 per cent higher than the same month last year and 34.8 per cent higher than the 10-year average.

Sales were less than one per cent lower than the same month last year, and still 15.3 per cent higher than the 10-year average.

“Listings continue to be the story,” said RAHB CEO George O’Neill. “The difference is that two months ago we reported on the sustained low inventory of listings and this month we are talking about a record for new listings. The increase in listings suggests that homeowners have been watching the market, seen home values increase significantly over the last year or two, and decided to take advantage of those increases.”

[CLICK HERE] to read the full release (PDF)

Thursday 1 June 2017

The other side of today's market: supply shift?

In my recent [column in the Mountain News], I referred to some preliminary information from May about sales volume.  Up to May 24, 2017 was higher in sales than in 2016, suggesting that the local market was weathering the recent provincial housing policies shifts without losing any steam.

Demand is, of course, only one side of the market, as I have been saying for a while. Local listing inventory has been shrinking for years now, and it was adding to the market frenzy with fewer and fewer properties available for an increasing number of interested buyers.  At the end of April, we saw a small surge of listings so that we had more new supply than demand for the first time in a while.

Now, [CBC has just reported] that new listings in May 2017 outpace any month in 2016.  It has been surmised that some sellers are accelerating their plans and listing sooner, out of concern for deflation in the market. But with the still-increasing demand suggested by sales volume, I don't think there is any reason for local sellers to fear any significant market loss.  And as a professional dealing with the diminishing supply of properties, I'll be happy to have a little relief for buyer clients, if that is in the cards.

As CBC says in their article, the official numbers won't be out for a few days, and I'll be watching for them to see just what is happening with our listing inventory.  Will it still outpace demand or is it just more wood on the already hot fire?