Economic optimism drives Hamilton buying boom
 

Economic optimism drives Hamilton buying boom
No. 2 in Ontario for real-estate buys

October 02, 2009
Meredith Macleod
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/645970

A new entrepreneurial spirit that is breathing life into a once-battered economy is the reason Hamilton has become one of the province's top real estate bets.

The Real Estate Investment Network has named Hamilton the second-best place in Ontario to buy a house or invest in commercial property.

"Known formerly as a hard-working steel town, Hamilton has transformed itself into a diverse economy," says the Top Ontario Investment Towns report released today.

"An entrepreneurial spirit has entered the city as it puts the wheels in motion to create a major high-tech industrial park, in conjunction with growth at McMaster University. In fact, Hamilton's leadership has been very innovative in terms of its revitalization plans throughout the city."

Don Campbell, president of REIN and author of Real Estate Investing in Canada, said today's investors must be selective and should target cities with the greatest potential.

"The years of skyrocketing prices are finally over; however, over the long term, the economic fundamentals of these key regions will help their property values dramatically outperform other regions of the province."

Campbell told The Spectator that Hamilton is finding new life after serious shocks to its manufacturing heart.

"Some cities will lose their industry and sit in a corner and cry and never come back."

The city's economic development department is celebrating another win earlier this week.

Hamilton was ranked seventh among Canadian metropolitan areas in attracting new and expanded corporate facilities.

Site Selection Magazine, a North American publication aimed at corporate real estate executives, tallied 13 corporate projects between June 2008 and May 2009.

The rankings are based on projects per capita, investment per capita and job creation.

Neil Everson, the city's director of economic development and real estate, says the recognition these kinds of studies bring "goes a very long way to changing people's perception and image about us ... it gives credibility to our marketing efforts."

The REIN study analyzed 13 economic measures, including average income growth, population growth, job creation, affordability, economic diversification and infrastructure.

Researchers also visited the top cities, talked to local economic development staff and listened to conversations in coffee shops, Campbell says.

It's about the future, not the past and not even the present, he says.

"Every city has to get over its past reputation and these rankings are totally objective.

"We put out the first study 17 years ago and Barrie and Orillia were the best back then. People thought they were just cabins and cottages, and look at them now."

The last survey, in 2007, ranked Hamilton at fifth in Ontario and before that it was eighth.

A mix of good news and bad news is actually a good sign for a revitalizing city, Campbell said on the day after the latest bid to bring an NHL team to Hamilton fell short.

"When everything is positive, you know something is coming around the corner."



Top 10 investment towns

1. Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge

2. Hamilton

3. Simcoe Shores: Barrie/Orillia

4. Brampton

5. Durham Region: Whitby/Pickering/Ajax

6. Ottawa

7. Brantford

8. Toronto

9. Vaughan

10. Whitchurch-Stouffville

Source: Real Estate Investment Network, Top Ontario Investment Towns, 2009-2014


Top Canadian metro areas for corporate facility projects, June 2008-May 2009

Calgary 37

Vancouver 37

Toronto 34

London 19

Montreal 18

Quebec City 16

Hamilton 13

Wood Buffalo (Fort McMurray), Alta. 8

Saskatoon 6

Halifax 6

Source: Site Selection Magazine

What a refreshing article to read, given all the negative, doom-and-gloom postings that have been placed here over the past few weeks. Sometimes one cannot see the forest for the trees.

Ok then. Guess I'll pass on my 'housing bubble' post. ;)

I'm surprised Ottawa didn't even make it on the list of metro areas... no Winnipeg either..?

It's called speculation. When your at the bottom the speculators see that and know the only way to go now is up. Lets hope they make lots of money and soon.

Not necessarily, when it comes to REIN's recommendations. REIN (and founder Don Campbell) focus primarily on a buy-and-hold strategy when it comes to real estate investment, not speculation and flipping.

Your comment suggests that Kitchener/Waterloo is at the absolute bottom of the barrel... and that Toronto is 8th from the bottom of the barrel... did you even read the rest of the list?

I was only referring to Hamilton. There's no other reason for people to invest in this city at the present time other than for speculation purposes.

I'm getting tired of you taking every single post and turning it into something negative. if you aren't happy here, why don't you go somewhere else?

Stay the course.
 

This is good news and maybe due to the reasonable prices and certain areas that draw a specific crowd (artists to James North).
What we shouldn't do is allow this news to generate greed or an opportunity to start jacking up the prices as this will just divert any chance at recovery to another town that is still cheap like St Catharines.
Or Toronto will wake up and concentrate on the areas that need new life.
Promote waterfront as have you seen the number of new highrises near the waterfront and skydome.......
Check out our Stoney Creek Mtn. Sure changed since 94 when I came to town.
Start at the North end and the Marina. :notacrook:
Biggie put some positive spin on it and encourage a think tank can-do approach. yeah team yeah

This is a ridiculous assertion for which you have no evidence.

For some reason you see it as your purpose in life to come on this forum and counter the 'glee club' with your negativity. I guess you fancy yourself an independent-minded contrarian, but that would only be true if there were factual bases for your arguments, which 90% of the time there isn't. Too bad. I would welcome factual opposing viewpoints, but your knee-jerk contrarianism is just annoying and stale.

No, it is not speculation.

Hamiton's fastest growing (and biggest) industries are health care and education, which are both seen to have high growth in the future.

Yes in the 80's Hamilton was on the decline, but it is now most certainly a different outlook.

I think Bigguy is half right, it's not that Hamilton is at the bottom it's that Toronto and the GTA is hyper extended past it's top. Investors (home buyers, speculators, people... whatever) can't find any value in Toronto real estate. $750 000 gets you a fixer upper in toronto, only suckers bite on those houses. The smart money goes where the value is, that's Hamilton.

This is a mix of good and bad news really. Good in that Hamilton is finally getting some recognition as a City with amazing housing stock. Bad in that it shows how over valued the rest of the GTA is and how prime it is for pull back.

No, it's called being realistic. I don't jump on bandwagons like alot of you here do. Facts and statistics are not always what they seem to be. Different people interpret them in different ways. Facts and statistics in most cases can be skewed to benefit either side of an arguement and there is always two sides to every arguement. I don't need to quote others or often inaccurate statistical analyses to make my point. I can formulate and articulate my own opinions without using other peoples words or research. I can think for myself. If you don't like my opinions too bad.

Isn't 'economic optimism' synonomous with 'speculation'? Why is speculation being treated like a bad word here? When driven by facts and identifiable trends, speculation can become a positive driving force for a city. Speculation is a bad thing only when it is not based on the reality of a situation. In the case of Hamilton, this speculation is based on actual growth and potential, and IMO will act as a conduit to further growth. And in the words of the almighty Martha Stewart, this is a good thing.

:haha:

"The fact that they looked it up in a book just shows that they don`t get the idea of truthiness at all. You don`t look up truthiness in a book, you look it up in your gut." - Stephen Colbert

Fixed it for you.

:previous:
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Seriously, this 'fixed it for you' pattern of posting is not exactly an approach that fosters healthy discourse.

Speculation alone inflates values without getting anything accomplished. If speculation becomes a catalyst for investment, fine.

But Hamilton's been hard done by the hundreds of "property speculators" who sit on properties hoping for their value to increase.

If this means they finally sell and investment gets done, fine. But speculation alone doesn't accomplish anything by itself, and may make it harder for those looking to invest, because it's more expensive when values are driven up.