Hamilton’s housing and rental market continued its hot streak even as a second wave of COVID-19 hit the city in December.
The price of a home in Hamilton increased 15.3 per cent year over year to $659,409 in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to a survey released Friday from Royal LePage.
That’s higher than the national aggregate price of a home in Canada, which increased 9.7 per cent to $708,842 year over year.
The median price of a two-storey home increased 17.1 per cent to $698,511, while the median price of a bungalow increased 11.8 per cent to $604,827. The price of a condominium increased 0.7 per cent to $381,008.
Overall, Hamilton’s real estate market saw double-digit gains in home prices in 2020.
Joe Ferrante, broker of record with Royal LePage State Realty, said he expects this trend to continue well into 2021.
“Multiple-offer scenarios have become commonplace and buyers are offering tens of thousands of dollars above the asking price to secure deals,” Ferrante said in a statement.
“With inventory at an all-time low, some sellers held off on listing their properties in 2020 on account of having little or no purchase options.”
Ferrante attributes the rising prices to a “combination of two things — interest rates and a definite shortage of product.”
“It’s a simple supply and demand issue when you think about it,” he said. “People are just not putting their houses up for sale like they used to, while the amount of people into our market outside the Hamilton area and from around the GTA seem to be buying up whatever we have, thus driving the prices up.”
The rental market has become quite competitive as well, noted Ferrante, as many people who can’t find property to buy are renting in the meantime.
“The lack of inventory is causing first-time buyers, who want to take advantage of low borrowing rates, to be priced out of the market,” he said. “These buyer hopefuls now find themselves competing for rental properties instead.”
The pandemic has created an “untraditional” year for the real estate market. After slow sales in April, the ripple effect of the pandemic on consumer behaviour resulted in more residents working and schooling from home.
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According to a recent report from the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB), sales of single-family homes in the area increased in December by 38 per cent compared to December 2019, while the average price rose by 29 per cent to $829,226.
In comparison, Ancaster in 2019 was the local area with the highest average home sales price at $772,811.
