Residential condominium market sees highest gains in September

(October 5, 2011 – Hamilton, Ontario) The real estate market in the Greater Hamilton, Burlington and outlying areas* continued to show increases in listings, sales and average sale price when compared to the same month last year, according to Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) statistics released today by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB). The residential condominium market saw the largest gain with a 13.8 per cent increase in the number of sales when compared to last September. The same market also saw a less than one percent decrease in average sale price from September of last year. The 206 condominium sales were better than the ten-year average of 198 sales for the month. “We are heading into the fall market with positive reports on the market,” said RAHB President Ann Forbes Arndt. “In general, we are seeing better-than-average results across the board when we look at last year and the ten-year average.” For the third quarter of the year, numbers of listings and sales in the residential market are well ahead of the same quarter last year, with listings up 10.7 per cent, sales up 13.5 per cent and average sale price up 3.5 per cent. “Last year’s third quarter included the months immediately following the implementation of the HST, when we saw activity in the real estate market drop considerably,” added Arndt, “so it’s no wonder that this year compared so well to last.” While third quarter figures compared favourably to last year’s third quarter, year to date results show a different story. Listings of residential properties are down 3.3 per cent while sales are down 0.5 per cent for the same nine-month period. Average sale price, however, is four per cent higher year to date than last year at the same time. Total dollar volume of $2.895B in residential sales is 3.7 per cent higher than last year for the same period. The numbers for the month of September: “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 East, Hamilton Centre, Dundas, Flamborough and Glanbrook all saw significant increases in numbers of sales, while Waterdown, Grimsby and Caledonia showed the largest drops in sales compared to September of last year. Stoney Creek and Dunnville were the only communities with a sizeable decrease in average sale price compared to last year. Waterdown and Ancaster had the greatest increases in average sale price. 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. *RAHB’s jurisdiction includes Burlington, Waterdown, Flamborough and Dundas in the north; Hamilton, Ancaster, Stoney Creek, and Grimsby along Lake Ontario; and extends down to the shores of Lake Erie, including Glanbrook, West Lincoln, Smithville, Dunnville, Cayuga, Caledonia, and Hagersville.  All information provided by Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington from www.rahb.ca