July market activity compares well to last year

(August 4, 2011 – Hamilton, Ontario)  The July, 2011 real estate market in the Greater Hamilton, Burlington and outlying areas* experienced an increase in listings, sales and average sale price compared to July of last year, according to Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) statistics released today by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB).

It was the condominium market that saw the largest gains over the same month last year, with a 23.3 per cent increase in sales and a six per cent increase in average sale price.  The residential freehold market wasn’t far behind, with a 21.3% increase in the number of sales over last year and a 5.6% increase in average sale price.

 “July certainly compared very well to last year at this same time,” said RAHB President Ann Forbes Arndt, “but that is something of an unfair comparison, given that last July’s results were adversely affected by the implementation of the HST.  What is the more telling comparison is how July stacked up against the average for the month for the last ten years.  If you look at those numbers, July was slightly below average in sales and slightly above average for numbers of listings. Only the condominium market showed higher-than-average numbers of sales.”

Overall year to date, residential sales are 2.9 per cent lower than in the same period last year.

The numbers for the month of July:

All Property Types              2010                      2011                      % change             10-year average

Listings	1271	1483	16.7%	1452
Sales	908	1095	20.6%	1132
Average Sale Price	$312,334	$331,721	6.2%	N/A

Residential Only

Listings	1174	1347	14.7%	1327
Sales	880	1059	20.3%	1090
Average Sale Price	$309,169	$326,242	5.5%	N/A

Freehold Only

Sales	681	826	21.3%	863
Average Sale Price	$330,232	$348,833	5.6%	N/A

Condominium Only

Sales	189	233	23.3%	227
Average Sale Price	$232,160	$246,155	6%	N/A

Commercial Properties (includes industrial, farm, vacant land and business)

Sales

28

36

28.6%

“Every community in our marketing area has their own localized residential market with larger swings than we see in the overall numbers,” said Arndt. Hamilton West, Hamilton Mountain, Dundas, Grimsby and Glanbrook all saw significant increases in numbers of sales, while Dunnville and Flamborough showed fewer sales compared to July of last year. 

Dundas was the only community with a sizeable decrease in average sale price compared to last year.  Dunnville and Burlington were the only communities with sizeable increases in average sale price, with Dunnville showing a 13 per cent increase and Burlington a 16.1 per cent increase.

Please refer to the accompanying chart for residential market activities in other parts of RAHB’s jurisdiction.

Figures quoted are for sales and average sale prices of units located in the jurisdiction* of the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington and processed through RAHB’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®).  Unit sales reflect “all property types” including residential, condominium, commercial property, farm, vacant land and business, unless otherwise specified. 

Article Provided by Realtors Association of Hamilton Burlington