I was showing a home the other day where my clients 2 young children instantly gravitated to the backyard pool and walking around the edges… it reminded me that june, july and august are the worst months by far for drowning incidents and a reminder is always a good idea. Lakes actually have a slightly higher incidence in ontario due to the large number of lakes. Red cross has some extensive reports for more in-depth reading.
“June sales volume dropped off 15% compared to june of last year but june of last year was really a record breaking month due to some pent up demand from very weak sales volume starting out 2009. In general the market has slowed slightly but seems to be following a fairly typical summer trend and seems to be a healthy balanced market.” Note the news release from the local board below:
The Hamilton-Burlington area resale market reported a total of 1359 units sold in June, indicating a decrease of 15 per cent from the same month last year, and a decrease of 6 per cent from May of this year. The total unit sales for the first six months of 2010 are being reported at 18.7 per cent higher than the same period last year, while new units listed are 20.7 per cent higher than last year at this time, according to Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) statistics released by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB).
“June’s sales are down from last year’s record-breaking month,” said Joe Ferrante, RAHB President, “but the strong numbers in the early months of the year still brings our year-to-date sales ahead of last year at this time.”
Residential properties sold during June totalled 1,305 which included 1,036 freehold properties and 269 condominiums. Commercial sales for June, including industrial, farm, vacant land and business, totalled 54 units.
The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of June was $331,056, an increase of 5 per cent over June last year. The average sale price reflects the dollar volume of residential sales divided by the number of total residential units sold.
In the condominium market the average price of condominiums in June was $249,227, an increase of 13.5 per cent over June 2009.
The total number of units listed for sale during June was 2072, which is 22 per cent more than were listed in the same period in 2009.
“With a good inventory of properties available,” added Ferrante. “Hamilton, Burlington and our outlying areas remain a great place to buy real estate.”
Unit sales reflect “all property types” including residential, condominiums, commercial property, farmland and sale of businesses.
I was sent this offer recently that I thought was worth passing on to other people…It is A $35 kit that could save you upto $100 a year in water and energy (hot water) and FREE to Union Gas customers with a natural gas water heater in their home. Just go to their website and order yours http://www.uniongas.com/esk/ or you can go to one of their pickup sites but you may need their offer voucher. Good till Dec 31/2010.
The following article is released by Hamilton-Burlington Real Estate board below….To sum up, sales have dropped off 5.5% from April indicating things are cooling slightly, average price is still quite healthy up 6% over last year; however the number of listings or available listings for Buyer’s to choose from has increased and we have a balanced healthy market again.
Market Starting to Settle
(June 4, 2010 – Hamilton, Ontario) The Greater Hamilton-Burlington area resale market reported a total of 1451 units sold in May, an increase of 8.8 per cent over May of last year, according to the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) statistics released by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB). When compared to April of this year, May’s total unit sales were down 5.5 per cent.
“The market is beginning to settle a bit,” said RAHB President Joe Ferrante. “We saw big highs in both the numbers of listings and sales in March and April, and now we are seeing how things will probably be continuing for the next few months.”Residential properties sold during May totalled 1406, which included 1114 freehold properties and 292 condominiums. Commercial sales for May, including industrial, farm, vacant land and business, totalled 45 units. The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of May was $339,484, an increase of 8.5 per cent over the same month last year and an increase of just under one per cent over last month.
In the condominium market, the average price of condominiums in May was $224,707, a decrease of three per cent compared to May, 2009 and a decrease of slightly more than two per cent from last month. The average sale price reflects the dollar volume of residential sales divided by the number of total residential units sold.May’s total average residential sale price increased six per cent over the same month in 2009.
The total number of units listed for sale during May was 2370, which is almost 33 per cent higher than were listed in the same month in 2009. “This is still a strong market by any measure,” added Ferrante, “and is performing pretty much as we expected.”
Unit sales reflect “all property types” including residential, condominiums, commercial property, farmland and sales of businesses
The following is a link to Ontario Ministry of Revenue website which gives you a breakdown on virtually all products, what we pay currently and how the change will affect us.
Read the published article by Hamilton-Burlington real estate board below….but in short, we had record sales and record average price again. We also had a record number of new listings that also came on in April and we have moved to a balanced market neither favoring the Buyer or Seller. As Joe Ferrante (the board president) mentions below, I also believe the low interest rates has likely pulled some Buyer’s ahead in the year and we will likely be a little slower in the 3rd and 4th quarters as a result.
(May 5, 2010 – Hamilton, Ontario) The Greater Hamilton-Burlington area resale market reported a total of 1537 units sold in April, an increase of 38.2 per cent over April of last year, according to the Multiple Listing Services® (MLS®) statistics released by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB). When compared to March of this year, total unit sales were 7.3 per cent higher in April, 2010.
This spring market is one of the best we’ve had,” said RAHB President Joe Ferrante. “The number of residential sales is the highest in any April on record, and we broke last month’s new record for the number of listings taken in a month, ever.” Residential properties sold during April totalled 1490, which included 1228 freehold properties and 262 condominiums. Commercial sales for April, including industrial, farm, vacant land and business, totalled 47 units.
The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of April was $336,625, an increase of 11.35 per cent over the same month last year and an increase of under one per cent over last month. In the condominium market, the average price of condominiums in April was $230,186, an increase of over seven per cent over April, 2009 and an increase of four per cent from last month. The average sale price reflects the dollar volume of residential sales divided by the number of total residential units sold.
April’s total average residential sale price increased 11.1 per cent over the same month in 2009. The total number of units listed for sale during April was 2517, which is almost 35 per cent higher than were listed in the same month in 2009.
“This strong market is expected to last through the spring,” added Ferrante, “but it will probably be at the expense of the second half of the year, when the HST kicks in and mortgage rates go up again.”
Unit sales reflect “all property types” including residential, condominiums, commercial property, farmland and sales of businesses.
April 6, 2010
I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but there are a lot of “For Sale” and “Sold” signs out right now. We have a very active real estate market in the Greater Hamilton-Burlington area. Statistics from the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) are showing that March was a record-breaking month for the number of new listings taken and we were close to a new record for the number of sales in the month of March.
Spring is typically a busy time for REALTORS®. It’s the time when a lot of corporate transfers come through and homeowners find themselves selling their homes and looking for new ones in new cities. It’s also the time when families wanting to up-size think about looking for new homes so their kids can settle into a new school before the end of the current school term, or at least make sure they are in their new home for the start of the next term. Before they buy a new house, they also want to make sure theirs is sold or at least on the market.
This year has been busier than most springs, and there are two additional factors at play – low interest rates and the coming Harmonized Sales Tax, or HST. Earlier this year, the Canadian Real Estate Association updated their forecast for 2010 and 2011 to indicate that the market in Ontario will be stronger than usual because of these two factors.
Low interest rates have been with us since last year, and it is generally accepted they can’t last. We’ve already seen, in the last week or two, increases in some mortgage rates from the big banks. While the new rates don’t look as attractive as what we’ve been seeing for the past few months, they are still very good rates, and they shouldn’t be deterring anyone from purchasing a home. The current wisdom is that rates will go up again in the fall, and advice from many quarters is that now is still the best time to be buying a home.
And then there’s the HST. The new Harmonized Sales Tax will apply to most services buyers and sellers use in their housing transactions. Right now sellers and buyers pay only 5% GST on their real estate commissions, legal fees, appraisal fees, home inspections and myriad other services connected to a real estate transaction. After July 1 they will pay 13%. It’s not a huge amount for any one transaction, but taken together could add around $1500 to the average real estate transaction. For those knowing they will be purchasing a home this year, it only makes sense – and saves dollars – to make the purchase before the new tax comes into effect.
It’s no wonder that this spring market is strong – there’s all the usual spring market activity, plus the added incentives of low interest rates and beating the start of the HST.
Joe Ferrante
President, RAHB
2010
February has proven that the brisk rate we have had for the past 9 months is still continuing, I see sales volume up more than 50% from same month in 2009 but I like to call early 2009 an anomaly at this point, if I compare to feb.2008 our sales volume is up about 18% which is still a brisk market. Our available inventory is still down approx. 22% over 2008 levels but seems to be slowly normalizing. Our average price seems to be following an average annual increase of about 5% which is a very moderate and healthy rate which also leads me to believe there is no bubble happening in our area. The market is still favouring the Seller but only slightly. This means Seller’s are doing well and with the sustained great interest rates we have had, Buyer’s are also doing well.
See the February news release from the Hamilton/Burlington real estate board below:
Sales, Price, Listings All Up from Last Year
(March 5, 2010 – Hamilton, Ontario) The Greater Hamilton-Burlington area resale market reported a total of 1114 units sold in February, an increase of 50 per cent over February of last year, according to the Multiple Listing Services® (MLS®) statistics released by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB).
The total unit sales, when compared to January of this year, were 50 per cent higher in February, 2010.
“It is no surprise that our numbers have all increased from last year at this time,” said Joe Ferrante, RAHB President, “given there was so much uncertainty in the market in early 2009. It’s obvious that both buyers and sellers are showing confidence that the economy is recovering.”
Residential properties sold during February totalled 1067 which included 866 freehold properties and 201 condominiums. Commercial sales for February, including industrial, farm, vacant land and business, totalled 47 units.
The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of February was $331,523, an increase of 18.6 per cent over the same month last year and an increase of 9.4 per cent over last month.
In the condominium market, the average price of condominiums in February was $241,987, an increase of 20.7 per cent over February, 2009 and an increase of five per cent over last month. The average sale price reflects the dollar volume of residential sales divided by the number of total residential units sold.
February’s total average residential sales price increased 18.2 per cent over the same month in 2009.
The total number of units listed for sale during February was 1751, which is 24 per cent higher than were listed in the same month in 2009.
“We anticipate that the spring market will be strong,” added Ferrante, “as buyers and sellers look to make their home purchases and sales before the HST kicks in and increases the taxes they will pay on the services attached to the home buying process.”
Unit sales reflect “all property types” including residential, condominiums, commercial property, farmland and sales of businesses.
Established in 1921, the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) represents more than 2,400 real estate brokers and sales representatives from Hamilton, Burlington, and surrounding areas. Members of the association may use the REALTOR® trademark, which identifies them as real estate professionals who subscribe to a strict code of ethics. The association operates the local Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) and provides ongoing professional education courses for its members. In addition, RAHB is an active participant in the Home Ownership Affordability Partnership (HOAP) and holds an annual auction in support of local charities. Advertisements of local MLS® property listings and information about the services provided by a REALTOR® can be found at www.REALTOR.ca. More information about RAHB is available at www.rahb.ca.
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For further information, contact:
Joe Ferrante Valerie Webster
President, RAHB Communications/Events Planner
Ph: 905-662-6661 Ph: 905-529-8101 Ext. 294
E: president@rahb.ca E: valeriew@rahb.ca
I have had quite a few people ask me in the last little while, because it has been a strong Seller`s market, whether we are experiencing a housing bubble and my reponse has been based on the affordability index in the Burlington/Hamilton area that I dont think so but most of what we are seeing is a shortage of inventory because new home starts were way down in 2009 and interest rates were and are at very low levels. The following is a well written article released by the Canadian Press on that topic.
January 14, 2010
Bank of Canada dismisses talk of housing bubble
Fundamentals, not speculation driving market, experts say
OTTAWA
A hot housing market is part of the natural flow of economic recovery, according to the Bank of Canada and economists working to deflate theories about a new housing bubble that could drive the economy back into recession.
The Bank of Canada indicated it was premature to be talking about a housing bubble in Canada in a speech Monday by bank official David Wolf. His remarks came after months of highlighting the danger of Canadians getting in over their heads in purchasing homes.
“Recent house price increases do not appear to be out of line with the underlying supply/demand fundamentals,” Wolf said. “We see the housing market requiring vigilance, not alarm.”
Wolf said the bank considers the current market to be a phenomenon based on temporary factors, such as pent-up demand from the recession, and low mortgage rates.
Moreover, he noted that with starts below long-term demographic requirements, the number of houses on the market is still declining.
The Canadian Real Estate Association reports housing prices increased about 4.4 per cent over the first 11 months of 2009, and predicts a further increase of 4.7 per cent in 2010.
The association’s chief economist, Gregory Klump, said the year-over-year increase has been “turbocharged” by a combination of today’s strong market and the weak year-ago market, which skews average prices.
He added that the current increase is part of natural real estate cycle.
“One would expect that when the worst of a recession is behind us and we’ve got emergency low interest rates, that would draw buyers back to the market,” he said.
Recovery in Canada’s housing market, where average home prices were up 11 per cent from July to September over the year-ago same period, leads developed countries, according to Scotia Economics’ Global Real Estate Trends report.
Adrienne Warren, senior economist at Scotia Economics, said Canadian homes are about 10 to 15 per cent overvalued, meaning there are risks if the economic revival does not play out as expected.
But she added that a bubble is unlikely because activity is based on fundamentals, not speculation.
“Because the housing market is interest rate sensitive…(it is) really the first area of the economy to revive. Once interest rates begin to move higher…then you’ll start to see the housing market being one of the first areas to begin to cool off,” Warren said.
“(But) I don’t think the risk of a sudden, widespread shock and rising default rates is likely,” she said.
Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney has warned for months that Canadians are amassing too much consumer and mortgage debt and that could be a problem for the broader economic recovery if rates rise and debt payments begin to increase for millions of Canadian households. However, Monday’s comments suggest the central bank won’t push rates higher just to cool the housing market.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has also openly discussed policy measures to cool the housing market, including raising the minimum down payment requirement above five per cent, or reducing the maximum mortgage amortizations.
Monday’s speech came hours after Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. released a report indicating the annual rate of housing starts reached 174,500 units in December, up nearly 10,000 from November.
The organization said the improvement in housing starts was broad-based, with solid increases in both single and multiple starts to end the year.
Klump said the rise in new supply in the market as well as the increase in the resale market will help the balance between supply and demand, adding that as 2010 progresses price increases will shrink to the rate of inflation.
Canadian Press
“January showed a shift back to a balanced market in Hamilton/Burlington for both Buyer’s and Seller’s from what was an unusually strong Seller’s market in the month of December.”
Published Feb.04 2010 by RAHB - (The Realtor’s Association of Hamilton/Burlington.)
The Greater Hamilton-Burlington area resale market reported a total of 750 units sold in January, indicating an increase of 58 per cent over the same month last year, but a 3 per cent decrease from December 2009.
“January sales certainly returned to more normal January levels,” said Joe Ferrante, RAHB President. “The unexpectedly strong market in December of 2009 was a hard act to follow, but the market held reasonably steady for the first month of the year.”
Residential properties sold during January totalled 714 which included 574 freehold properties and 140 condominiums. Commercial sales for December, including industrial, farm, vacant land and business, totalled 36 units.
The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of January was $302,474, an increase of 10 per cent over the same month last year, and 1.25 per cent over last month.
In the condominium market the average price of condominiums in January was $230,583, an increase of 10 per cent from January 2009, but a decrease of 4.5 per cent from last month. The average sale price reflects the dollar volume of residential sales divided by the number of total residential units sold.
January’s total residential average sales price of $288,397 showed an increase of almost 9 per cent over the same month in 2009, and an increase of almost 1 per cent over December, 2009.
“While the January market performed at levels that are more normal, we are looking forward with caution, as there is still a great deal of economic uncertainty surrounding us. ” added Ferrante.
Unit sales reflect “all property types” including residential, condominiums, commercial property, farmland and sale of businesses.