Hamilton condo prices starting to cool off even as sales are up: Report
Published April 19, 2021 at 8:04 am
While Hamilton’s real estate market continues to see prices soar to new heights, a new report has found that condos prices in the city appear to be levelling out even as sales are up.
According to a report from the real estate platform Strata.ca, Hamilton saw 75 condo sales last month, compared to just 28 the year prior, but currently, the price-per-square-foot is currently sitting at $501, down from February’s record-high of $535.
“Although appreciation values are up five per cent over the past year, we’re noticing what appears to be a levelling-off since a pricing surge that kicked off in December,” said Robert Van Rhijn, Broker of Record at Strata.ca in the report.
“A lot of this is likely due to a rise in inventory, forcing sellers to bring down their asking price so they can stay competitive.”
Downtown Hamilton remains one of the more expensive neighbourhoods with condos selling at about $567 per square foot, but the most expensive area is Lakeshore-Stoney Creek is the where the average price per square foot is $662 and an average sale price of $618,000 the report notes.
The most affordable neighbourhoods to purchase a condo are the West Mountain and Red Hill-Vincent-Gershome where the average sale price sits at $538,000 and $522,000 respectively.
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So why is it that while the movement of condo properties in Hamilton seems to be on the upswing prices are coming down?
The Strata report theorizes that with the recent shift in the housing market, largely ignited by the pandemic, which made Hamilton one of the hottest real estate markets in the province, the city’s condo market is the only one that remains within reach for young families and first-time homebuyers.
“Not only do you get more value per square foot in Hamilton, but units here tend to be more spacious,” said Van Rhijn.
“Plus you’re not competing with the density found in other urban areas, so it really lends itself to a different quality of life.”
The average price for a home in Hamilton in March was $872,368 which was up three per cent from February and up 32 per cent from the same time last year, a report from the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington found earlier this month.
With an inventory not quite meeting demand, the Hamilton market has seen sale prices well over asking and bidding wars for properties.
For those priced out of the home market, the cooling of condo prices in Hamilton “is encouraging,” Rhijn said.
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