Hamilton houses selling fast, but deals to be had: realtors

The Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington is predicting the region will remain a sellers’ market this year and that house prices will continue to rise.

In its 2015 housing market forecast, the RAHB predicts there will be 20,000 residential listings, 14,500 residential sales and a 3.5 per cent rise in prices. Last year, the organization’s predictions were almost spot on.

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"We have a crazy crystal ball here," said RAHB President Donna Bacher.

Despite an average price above $400,000 and houses that can be sold the same night they’re listed, the real estate market is still full of affordable starter homes, the association says.

But while prices are going up — this year’s increase was actually 6.1 per cent — Bacher says there’s still an abundance of homes selling for around $200,000 or less in Hamilton Centre and Hamilton East, near the point where mortgage payments aren’t that different from paying rent. 

"We have an abundance of homes in both of those areas which are below that $200,000 mark," Bacher said, noting historically, those areas have always been where Hamiltonians found their first homes.

Bacher said she doesn’t put much stock in statistics that shows Hamilton has one of the largest gaps between average household income and average house price in Canada because of the skewed nature of the market. 

Some 3,000 of the 13,346 houses that sold last year, for example, were in Burlington, one of the more expensive areas of the local market, Bacher said. Once you add in the high sale prices of homes in Flamborough and other suburbs (often over $500,000) you better understand what’s driving the high average price. 

Bacher said she understands how an economist "not knowing the type of market that we really represent" would be confused by the numbers.

"In actuality, Hamilton proper — the city of Hamilton — is very affordable," she said.

Average home prices in Hamilton Centre and Hamilton East are about $200,000 and $225,000, respectively. 

And when houses are priced right, those Hamilton houses move fast.

RAHB CEO Ross Godsoe said there’s been a "huge shift" in how long homes are staying on the market — from 44 to 39 days in 2014. Godsoe said in the downtown core, that window is even smaller, with many homes selling in 10-12 days. 

Bacher said she’s seen houses get listed on the local market at 10 p.m. and already have serious offers by the next morning. Often, she said, Hamilton homes don’t ever make it to the Canada-wide Realtor.ca listings page because they’ve already been sold at a local level. 

That said, "it’s not like anything is selling," Bacher said, so those looking to capitalize on the hot market still need to price their homes right.

What’s driving the growth?

Godsoe and Bacher said a series of factors is driving the real estate market in Hamilton, including low interest rates and low unemployment rates in the city. There’s also the many potential buyers being priced out of other GTA markets, primarily Toronto.

The RAHB doesn’t have know exactly how many people from Toronto buying in Hamilton, but they estimate it's somewhere between 20 and 30 per cent. 

"It’s always been a constant flow," Bacher said, but said as the price of a detached house in Toronto ticks closer to the seven-figure mark the influx of new buyers is more obvious. 

There’s also the oft-cited development projects: the new GO station, intensification in the downtown core and other redevelopment plans set to get going in the coming years, like the city’s redevelopment plans in areas like Barton and Ottawa Streets.