Hamilton Housing Market Report
- In December 2024, Hamilton's average home price increased by 1.6% year-over-year, with the average sold price now at $772,705 for December 2024.
- The benchmark price for a home in the Hamilton-Burlington region was $798,600 in December 2024, a decrease of 0.5% compared to October 2023 and a 2.4% decline from last month.
- Detached home average price increased by 3.9% year-over-year to $855k.
- Townhouse average price increased by 2.3% year-over-year to $683k.
- Condo apartment average price increased by 10.9% year-over-year to $475k.
- January 28, 2025 Update: Today’s Lowest mortgage rates in Hamilton is 4.04% for 3-Year Fixed
Hamilton Housing Market Overview
Hamilton Housing Market: Price Movements for December 2024
Benchmark* Home Price | $798,600 | -2.4% 1-Month Change | -0.5% 1-Year Change |
Average Home Price | $772,705 | -1.9% 1-Month Change | +1.6% 1-Year Change |
Median Home Price | $720,000 | -0.8% 1-Month Change | +2.1% 1-Year Change |
*The benchmark price is for the entire Hamilton-Burlington region, including Hamilton, Burlington, Haldimand County and Niagara North. | |||
While sales in the Hamilton-Burlington housing market surged significantly over the past few months, December 2024 brought about the seasonal slowdown which is typically witnessed around this time of the year. However, similar to the trend observed over the past few months, sales in December 2024 were higher than a year ago. On the other hand, the average home price and new listings have also increased in the same time frame.
Home Prices
In December 2024, the City of Hamilton’s average home price increased by 1.6% from December last year to $772,705. The average home price declined by 1.9% on a monthly basis. According to long-term statistics, the city's average home price has risen by roughly 45% over the past five years. Meanwhile, the average price for December 2024 is still 24% lower than the all-time peak observed in February 2022, suggesting that the market is a bear market.
The average home price for the Hamilton-Burlington region in December 2024 was $835,098, a 1.2% decrease from the previous month and a 2.2% increase year over year.
Sales
In December 2024, 344 homes were sold in Hamilton, a decrease of 25.2% from last month and an increase of 16.2% from December 2023.
Looking at the entire Hamilton-Burlington region, the 556 sales mark a 20.6% year-over-year increase and a 27.8% month-over-month decrease.
New Listings and Inventory
There were 382 new listings in the city of Hamilton’s housing market in December 2024, a 55% monthly decrease, which represents a typical seasonal slowdown. However, the new listings were 23.2% higher than the new listings in December last year. The inventory at the end of the month was about 13.5% higher than last year. Hamilton’s real estate market had an inventory of 1,400 homes at the end of December 2024. Meanwhile, the market had 4.1 months of supply available at the end of December. The average number of days on the market for a home in Hamilton has increased to 51.3 days from last month’s 40.1 days.
Hamilton’s sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) for the month was 90%, increasing from last month’s 54%. An SNLR above 60% generally suggests that it is a seller’s market. However, since the market activity usually suffers a slowdown towards the end of the year, often more on the seller’s part than the buyer’s, December’s SNLR may not reflect the market conditions accurately. Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that an SNLR between 40% and 60% generally indicates balanced market conditions, meaning the market favours neither the sellers nor the buyers.
Property Types
Breaking down the Hamilton real estate market into property types, 220 detached homes were sold, along with 16 semi-detached homes, 77 townhouses, and 31 condo apartments.
- Detached homes had a benchmark price of $803,800 in December 2024, remaining unchanged year-over-year.
- The benchmark price of semi-detached homes was $711,700, increasing by 1% year-over-year.
- The benchmark price of townhouses was $634,200, decreasing by 1% year-over-year.
- Condo apartments had a benchmark price of $451,600, a 5% decrease year-over-year.
Regional Comparison
The most expensive housing market in the Hamilton-Burlington region, Burlington, had an average home price of $1,040,535 in December 2024, decreasing by 0.9% from December last year. The 126 sales in the month represent an annual increase of 23.5%.
In Haldimand County, the average sale price of $739,902 marks a 23.8% increase year over year. The 44 sales in Haldimand County represent a 214% increase year over year. The average price in Niagara North has increased by 7.6% yearly to $829,538. The sales in Niagara North increased by 23.5% year over year to 42 sales. Being smaller market areas, Haldimand County and Niagara North experience greater fluctuations in sales and average prices on a monthly basis.
Reasoning
Hamilton’s housing market has been a relatively affordable alternative to other markets in Ontario, such as the Toronto housing market, Mississauga housing market, and Brampton housing market, within close proximity of Toronto. Due to many homebuyers competing to buy a home in Hamilton during the pandemic, the average house price in the region crossed the $1M mark at the beginning of 2022.
However, the mortgage rates increased significantly in the latter half of 2022 after the Bank of Canada hiked its policy rate to control inflation. As a result, many homebuyers withdrew from the market, bringing a significant slowdown in sales and, consequently, a major drop in home prices. Home prices continue to trend nearly 20% lower than the peak of February 2022.
Looking Forward
In accordance with market expectations, the BoC recently delivered five policy rate cuts, with the most recent jumbo 0.50% cuts in October 2024 and December 2024. The BoC rate now stands at 3.25%. Interest rate forecasts predict that the BoC may deliver more rate cuts in the coming months. While rate cuts are expected, mortgage rates will likely stay much higher than the 2020-2021 levels for the foreseeable future, and we are unlikely to see such low mortgage rates again.
Home Prices in Hamilton
Hamilton Housing Market Statistics for All Property Types in December 2024
Average Sold Price and MLS HPI Benchmark Price
Total Transactions
Market Overview for Detached Homes in December 2024
Average Sold Price
New Listings
Market Overview for Semi-Detached in December 2024
Average Sold Price
New Listings
Market Overview for Townhouse in December 2024
Average Sold Price
New Listings
Market Overview for Condo Apartments in December 2024
Average Sold Price
New Listings
Hamilton-Burlington Breakdown by Region for December 2024
Glossary and Definitions
MLS® HPI: The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) is an index by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) that tracks the prices of homes in a neighborhood. It allows Canadians to quickly compare home prices across Canada and between periods of time without having to account for specific features of a property. Unlike market prices, which can fluctuate from month to month based on seasonal dynamics, the HPI provides a stable view tracks trends across a longer period of time. The HPI is reviewed every year in May to adjust for changes in the real estate marketplace.
MLS® HPI Benchmark Price: The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Benchmark Price is the HPI translated into a real-world price number.
Strata Insurance: Strata insurance is insurance used by a strata like a condominium to covers damages to common areas and assets and liability to the strata. It can also include fixtures built or installed as part of the original construction of each unit, even though these may not be common structures. The insurance can cover:
- Buildings and structures associated with the strata including common areas such as the roof, parking garages, driveways, gyms, pools, etc.
- Liability for any property damage or bodily injury suffered on strata property
- Any fixtures that are part of the "standard unit" or original construction of each unit
Strata insurance does not usually include personal items and appliances that are part of a condo unit. It also does not cover the damages made by individual unit owners, such as in the case of water damage caused by a unit owner. These are usually covered by personal condo insurance.
Property types
Detached home: A detached home is your standard single-family home. It is a residential building that stands alone and is separately titled or legally a single unit.
Semi-detached home: A semi-detached home is similar to a detached home, except it shares a wall with another home. This pair of homes must make up an independent building and each should be separately titled or legally two separate units. There can only be two homes in a semi-detached building.
Townhouses: A townhouse is the middle between a detached/semi-detached home and a condo apartment. Like detached and semi-detached homes, they are often single-family units that have their own land and may be attached to other units. However, like condo apartments, they typically have to pay co-ownership fees for maintenance and may share some common features with their neighbors.
Condo apartment: This category includes all apartments and condominiums. These are complexes of residential units with common areas such as hallways, parking lots, stairwells, etc. They can be low-rise, mid-rise, or high-rise buildings. Unlike townhouses, there are no parts of the lot (the land of the building) where access is reserved for only one owner or occupant. There can be privately owned units and spaces inside the building.
Plexes are multi-story buildings with two to four individual units, usually one on each floor. They are a mainstay in Montreal and other cities in Quebec. Each unit is usually individually accessible via an external entrance with higher floors connected by staircases.
Property Classes
Freeholds: A freehold is any property where the owner owns both the house and the land it is built on. Common freehold property types include: detached, semi-detached, some townhouses, and farmland.
Condominiums: A condominium or condo is any property where the owner owns the home (or unit) but shares ownership of the land and other improvements with a condominium corporation. Common condominium property types include condo apartments and some townhouses.
Leasehold: Leasehold describes the situation where different entities own the land and the structure built on the land. Owner of the buildings has leased the land and pay rent to their landlord while owning the building on the land.
Housing Markets Across Canada
Data sourced from the RAHB and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Any analysis or commentary is the opinion of the analysts at WOWA.ca and should not be construed as investment advice. Please consult a licensed real estate professional before making a real estate investment decision. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA.
Disclaimer:
- Any analysis or commentary reflects the opinions of WOWA.ca analysts and should not be considered financial advice. Please consult a licensed professional before making any decisions.
- The calculators and content on this page are for general information only. WOWA does not guarantee the accuracy and is not responsible for any consequences of using the calculator.
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- Interest rates are sourced from financial institutions' websites or provided to us directly. Real estate data is sourced from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and regional boards' websites and documents.
- The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service®, and associated logos are owned by CREA and identify services provided by its members.