[SteelTown]

Movin' on up

January 11, 2008
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton Spectator

The average price of a Hamilton-area home will hit $300,000 this year.

That prediction from the local real estate board comes after the busiest year on record when 14,400 homes changed hands for an average $272,800, up 7.5 per cent from 2006.

"We had a strong seller's market in 2007 and we're predicting exactly the same thing for 2008," said Ann Cosens, newly installed president of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington.

Cosens said several forces are driving up local housing prices -- demand remains strong because the area's economy is performing well while the supply of houses for sale remains tight.

The local market is also getting a boost from "housing refugees" from the Greater Toronto Area attracted by the fact a house that sells here for about $270,000 costs $400,000 in Toronto.

Looking ahead, Cosens said mortgage rates are expected to remain low, the turmoil in the American housing market won't have a depressing effect here, and while the rate of growth will slow, sales and prices will continue to rise.