Housing market

[ihateittoo]

young doesn't cross caroline? do you mean catharine?

[mattgrande]

Yes. I will edit my post.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by mattgrande

Last week I noticed a new sign up on the lot at the Northwest corner of Young & Caroline Catherine Catharine. Low-rise condos, I believe, starting price in the mid two hundreds?

This is the third time I've seen a sign like this on that lot, so I'm not holding my breath.

I lived in Corktown in the mid to late 90s. There's always been a sign on that lot. Every year the owner changes it to try to stir up a little interest. Never works.

[Pearlstreet]

http://rahb.ca/press/2012/Hamilton%2...0September.pdf

Hamilton housing market after another upswing! Check out the link...

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by Pearlstreet

http://rahb.ca/press/2012/Hamilton%2...0September.pdf

Hamilton housing market after another upswing! Check out the link...

I wouldn't read too much into those numbers. The RAHB President is cautious.

http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/stor...september.html

[drpgq]

Hamilton housing starts on the rise

http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/stor...ng-starts.html

Housing starts in the Hamilton area have increased over last year, according to the latest numbers from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The CMHC is reporting 241 housing starts in the Hamilton area for September, up from 188 in September of last year. Since January, the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area has seen 2,422 total housing starts, again an increase for the same time period last year, which saw 1,661 starts.

The City of Hamilton saw the bulk of the new builds, with 232 housing starts, while Burlington had 2 and Grimsby 7 for the month of September.

Whoa, what's going on with Burlington? I guess they're pretty much built out now and everything else will be intensification?

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by drpgq

The City of Hamilton saw the bulk of the new builds, with 232 housing starts, while Burlington had 2 and Grimsby 7 for the month of September.

Whoa, what's going on with Burlington? I guess they're pretty much built out now and everything else will be intensification?

Burlington is largely built out, and intensification has been going on for the last several years. I'm guessing that CMHC's numbers would show that most of the vertical development in the GHA in the last 10 years has been going on in Burlington (Aldershot alone probably outdoes Hamilton for condo development). Hamilton, meanwhile, is a powerhouse of the suburban freehold: Most of the city's activity is single family homes being built south of the Linc.

[matt602]

Definitely not good news by any stretch as this is probably entirely suburban townhouse developments. How much of this will need to be done until there's a serious shift to intensification? How many more boundary extensions will be proposed? How much more fertile farmland will be taken over by housing devleopers?

A sad state of affairs.

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by movingtohamilton

I wouldn't read too much into those numbers. The RAHB President is cautious.

http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/stor...september.html

From the RAHB website: "Seasonally adjusted sales of residential properties were 10.9 per cent lower than the same month last year, with the average sale price up 13.7 per cent for the month. Seasonally adjusted numbers of new listings were almost flat to the same month last year."

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by matt602

...A sad state of affairs.

Indeed it is. The chorus of worry over an impending bust in the housing market is growing louder. The ratio of debt-to-income is becoming a larger and larger concern, given the commitment to mortgages. Yet the suburban dream, largely being abandoned in many USA cities, is alive and well in the GTHA. This dream will become an unaffordable nightmare for those living beyond their means.

The "lower city" of Hamilton is a screaming bargain for resale home prices. The middle-class, as the engine of the economy, should be flocking to our inner city, but the psychology at work in Hamilton seems to make that an irrational choice rather than a sensible one. I just don't know what the tipping point will be.

[Pearlstreet]

So if you were to buy a place in Hamilton in the next few months, where would you go with no more than $200,000?

Anyone with student rental experience? How did that go for you?

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by Pearlstreet

So if you were to buy a place in Hamilton in the next few months, where would you go with no more than $200,000?

How about here? On Hunter Street East, for $198,900.

http://bit.ly/WGQNMR

[Pearlstreet]

Originally Posted by movingtohamilton

How about here? On Hunter Street East, for $198,900.

http://bit.ly/WGQNMR

Realtor.ca is too addictive. Hamilton should open a clinic for this...

Its a nice house, but facing oncoming highway of Clairmont Access.

Where do you feel the most future consentration of future development will be? Bayfront? Downtown core? Strathcona area (lrt etc)?

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by Pearlstreet

...Its a nice house, but facing oncoming highway of Clairmont Access.

Where do you feel the most future consentration of future development will be? Bayfront? Downtown core? Strathcona area (lrt etc)?

There are 83 other options between $175-$200k!

Personally, I'm hoping for more people going to the downtown core. I also know that Toronto people have discovered Bayfront. They want waterfront, or near-waterfront homes without the Beaches price tag.

[thistleclub]

Oh, and the city's sprawl ("city farmland") valuations are twice that of west Hamilton neighbourhoods.

A rising tide
Home values have soared along the waterfront in Hamilton and Burlington, and in Hamilton’s downtown
(Hamilton Spectator, Nov 17, 2012)

Hamilton’s core and waterfront are on the rise – and if you live there, so are your taxes.

The latest provincial data shows homes along the Beach Strip, in west Hamilton and in an L-shaped band hugging the downtown have gained more value compared to the city average since 2008.

Over four years, average residential values have increased 12.6 per cent in Hamilton, with the average home now worth $290,981, according to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. If your property value increase is higher than that, your tax bill will likely grow.

On the upside, your climbing property value may be a testament to successful downtown and harbour redevelopment, said Hamilton real estate agent Conrad Zurini.

He attributed fast-rising property values in some areas of the city to an “affordable waterfront” and “trickling success” in efforts to bring jobs and people back to the core.

“To me, it looks like we’ve turned the corner,” he said.

Highlights of property value reassessments:

• A whopping 30 to 50 per cent average increase along the Burlington waterfront;
• Between 18 and 20 per cent for properties along the Hamilton Beach Strip;
• Around 23 per cent for semi-detached homes in the north end near the harbour;
• 17 per cent or higher in many west Hamilton neighbourhoods, including those surrounding the downtown along James Street and between the Mountain and Main Street West.
• An average of 34 per cent for city farmland.

2012 Home Value Update

Average Home Values: Ontario $368,903 (+18.5% avg), Hamilton $290,981 (+12.6 avg), Burlington $440,431 (+20.1% avg), Grimsby $330,341 (+9.3% avg)

[bigguy1231]

I think the assessments in this city went up about 20% across the board. I live on the mountain and my assessment went went up $42,000 which wouldn't be bad if it actually reflected the value of the property. Unfortunately the assessment is about $20,000 more than I could possibly sell the house for, if I compare it to recent sale prices in the area. I have already done the paperwork for a re assessment. Hopefully the re assessment will be more in line with the actual market value.

[oldcoote]

For the 2nd time in 11 years, I've been hit with a reassessment hike of close to 50% (different houses). Both times following obtaining a building permit for renovations. This system is corrupt and unfair to homeowners who take pride in their homes.
Was the assessment too low before? Probably. But the arbitrary nature of this process is maddening.
Why am I assessed $100K more than my neighbour?

[mattgrande]

See, this is why I don't get permits for my renos.

[thistleclub]

Re/Max: "The RE/MAX Housing Market Outlook 2013 examined trends and developments in 26 major markets across the country. The report found that the number of homes sold is expected to match or exceed 2011 levels in 65 per cent of markets (17/26) in 2012, led by strong activity in Western Canada, including Calgary (up 13.5 per cent) and Regina (eight per cent). Eighty-one per cent (21/26) of markets are set to experience average price increases by year-end 2012, with Regina the country’s frontrunner at eight per cent, followed by Hamilton-Burlington, Greater Toronto, and Fredericton at seven per cent and Saskatoon at 6.5 per cent."

[Pearlstreet]

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...rentals-report