Housing market

[Pearlstreet]

Apartment-licensing plan on back burner
Councillors favour beefed up property enforcement, formation of stakeholder committed.
By Matthew Van Dongen (The Hamilton Spectator; Sept 18th, 2013)


City councillors have shelved a controversial rental licensing bylaw in the face of opposition from landlords, affordable housing advocates — and surprisingly, their own planning director. The city planning committee tabled a decision Tuesday on the latest staff proposal to license rental housing with six units or fewer, despite changes designed to delay enforcement and make it cheaper for landlords.

Instead, five councillors endorsed $455,000 worth of annual, permanently beefed up property standards enforcement and a late suggestion from Chad Collins to form a stakeholder committee to explore ways to deal with an estimated 8,000 illegal apartments across the city.

"This is a chance for us to offer an olive branch to landlords and have them work with us, instead of dumping fees and fines on all of them, whether they're good or bad," said Collins.

"If it doesn't work, we can always go back to the (licensing) bylaw. But after today, I have to question who exactly is asking us to champion this thing."

The recommendation must survive a council ratification vote next week.

But the likelihood of that result increased Tuesday after planning director Tim McCabe, in response to a councillor's question, revealed a personal preference for proactive bylaw enforcement over the licensing recommendation in the official staff report.

"That sort of took the air out of everyone's tires," said Councillor Terry Whitehead, who earlier made an impassioned plea for councillors to "step up" and protect vulnerable tenants in substandard housing with a licensing bylaw.

"I'm certainly not willing to abandon (the licensing bylaw) completely, but I'm willing to park it for now. For those landlords who want to work with us on an alternate solution, this is your window."

The staff report had suggested a $100 a year licensing fee — as opposed to the original $192 fee — and delayed enforcement until 2017 in a bid to placate upset landlords. The combination of beefed up enforcement and licensing would have required 14 new hires and about $550,000 in annual costs at the outset.

But affordable housing advocates told councillors Tuesday they were more worried about the human costs.

"I fear the eviction of a lot of people with no plan to help them," said Renee Westelaar, who spoke on behalf of the Social Planning and research Council.

She noted the city's own suggestion — that 30 per cent of apartments in converted homes could be shut down as illegal under the licensing scheme.

That dramatic shift could push thousands of people out of affordable homes and into emergency shelters, she said.

Landlords and realtors urged councillors to stick with enforcement of existing bylaws — or at least delay a licensing decision until after a new comprehensive zoning bylaw comes into force.

Those evolving rules could naturally turn some "illegal" units into acceptable examples of needed residential intensification, said Donna Bacher, who belongs to the local realtors' association.

"Go after the bad landlord … chase him out of my industry," said Arun Pathak, a member of the Hamilton-Burlington apartment association. "But don't burden all landlords and tenants (with licensing costs.)"

While most delegates to Tuesday's meeting opposed licensing, other residents sent letters supporting the plan as a way to crack down on converted homes stuffed with too many rental units.

"Reliance on existing bylaws is inadequate," wrote Westdale resident Tibor Bocz, who saw the bylaw as a new tool to address "unsafe and poorly maintained" properties in his neighbourhood.

That's the problem the new committee will have to tackle in the next year, said Collins.

Options for discussion could include future zoning bylaw amendments or reduced costs for rezoning applications, he said.

"I think it's at least worthwhile to have the discussion," he said. "But we can't just wave a magic wand and legalize thousands of apartments, either. Some of them just aren't appropriate ... and some just aren't safe."

[HillStreetBlues]

This isn’t ideal. Is the message that the municipal government wants to send that, “we’re going to ignore improperly zoned rental units for now, but at any point we might change our minds again and shut them all down, and in so doing make the business more expensive for everyone else as well”?

A casual look at rental properties listed in Hamilton shows that most smaller multi-unit buildings are not properly zoned. You take a fair bit of risk in buying one of these right now, as I see it. I think that they are priced accordingly. That’s logical, of course- you have to pay more for safer investments. At the very least, the onerous cost of getting a property rezoned should be discounted from the price. And, if you listen to Terry Whitehead, you might believe that you need to assume that you can only operate the rental for x years, and need to get value from it accordingly.

I’m in the west end, and there are multi-unit houses that are not properly zoned. Most look pretty good, are well kept-up and keep to the character of the neighbourhood reasonably well. But it’s clear to me that what the City is doing will not encourage property owners to invest in housing in Hamilton. If you have a multi-unit in Hamilton (let’s say in an improving neighbourhood) that is not zoned for that use (and there are a lot of them), you’re a lot less likely to invest in your property knowing that the City might shut you down in a few years. It’s a much more sound decision to extract value from it without putting any back in- if you thought about putting in a twenty thousand dollar kitchen to attract better tenants, you might think again to hear Whitehead and Collins say that they “may” revisit licensing down the road, and make you tear it right out.

Anyway, the committee has kicked the can down the road. After so many claims about how unsafe tenants are, even I was thinking that something different should be done. They prefer to do no conclusion.

[kwoldtimer]

What is the timeframe for the "comprehensive zoning bylaw" referred to in the article. Is it even a thing?

[SteelTown]

Hamilton just one home short of matching sales record

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilt...cord-1.1928439

Hamilton home sales just missed breaking a record in September.

A total of 1207 homes were sold last month, according to the latest numbers from the Relators Association of Hamilton-Burlington. That’s just one short of the record set four years ago, in Sept. 2009.

“Sales and listings for the month of September were both well above the 10 year average for the month,” said Ross Godsoe, CEO for the RAHB.

And home prices in Hamilton are still on the rise.

The RAHB reports the average home price for September was $392,013, an increase of nearly seven per cent from Sept. 2012.

It’s even a noticeable increase from just one month prior. August numbers from the Canadian Real Estate Association show the average home price in Hamilton as $385,444. The city followed a national trend of increasing prices across the country. Nine provinces and territories saw increases at the end of the summer, according to CREA.

The CREA has not yet released its numbers for real estate prices across the nation for September.

[thistleclub]

From RAHB’s September 2013 Market Report:

The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1207 properties sold through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) system in September…. The average sale price of $392,013 was an increase of 6.7 per cent over the previous September. There were 1953 properties listed in September, an increase of 5.8 per cent over September of last year. End-of-month listing inventory is 6.8 per cent lower than last year. Seasonally adjusted sales of residential properties were 21.4 per cent higher than the same month last year, with the average sale price up eight per cent for the month. Seasonally adjusted numbers of new listings were 1.4 per cent higher than the same month last year.

Average Sale Price, Sept 2013

Ancaster $560,296
Flamborough $520,481
Burlington $501,650
Waterdown $454,085
Dundas $395,644
Grimsby $371,818
Glanbrook $345,967
Stoney Creek $329,695
Hamilton West $311,883
Caledonia $287,044
Hamilton Mountain $284,599
Hamilton East $212,232
Hamilton Centre $187,408
Dunnville $183,850

Average Sale Price Increase ($), Sept 2013 vs Sept 2012

Flamborough $142,092
Dundas $62,983
Waterdown $62,088
Burlington $57,480
Ancaster $42,388
Caledonia $33,044
Hamilton Centre $31,112
Stoney Creek $23,448
Hamilton Mountain $17,380
Hamilton West $12,623
Hamilton East $5,350
Glanbrook -$6,043
Dunnville -$13,450
Grimsby -$42,118

Average Sale Price Increase (%), Sept 2013 vs Sept 2012

Flamborough 37.55%
Hamilton Centre 19.91%
Dundas 18.93%
Waterdown 15.84%
Caledonia 13.00%
Burlington 12.94%
Ancaster 8.18%
Stoney Creek 7.66%
Hamilton Mountain 6.50%
Hamilton West 4.22%
Hamilton East 2.57%
Glanbrook -1.72%
Dunnville -6.82%
Grimsby -10.18%

Source: RAHB Market Reports


As always, take it with a grain of salt.

[coalminecanary]

Mountain coucillors should take a long hard look at that list and make a note of where they are in the order. Things are happening downtown and we'd thank them to get out of the way and let us grow.

[markbarbera]

Judging by those numbers, real estate in Flamborough is on fire. I knew it was great but all of a sudden housing prices are right up there with Ancaster and Burlington. With all the talk about Waterdown being on the up and up, I haden't noticed the jump in Flamborough. 37% annual increase is outstanding.

[thistleclub]

Crunching RAHB's sales numbers for January through September we get a Q1-Q3 2013 snapshot:

Average Sale Price, Jan-Sept 2013

Flamborough $529,560
Burlington $486,741
Ancaster $479,552
Waterdown $440,157
Dundas $389,082
Grimsby $355,409
Glanbrook $338,638
Stoney Creek $327,107
Hamilton West $316,160
Caledonia $288,409
Hamilton Mountain $280,065
Hamilton East $208,401
Dunnville $197,411
Hamilton Centre $176,664

Average Sale Price Increase ($), Jan-Sept 2013 vs Jan-Sept 2012

Flamborough $62,614
Waterdown $43,554
Burlington $33,819
Dundas $33,345
Caledonia $25,628
Hamilton West $23,028
Ancaster $19,134
Hamilton Mountain $15,842
Hamilton Centre $15,123
Stoney Creek $14,365
Hamilton East $9,865
Grimsby $5,777
Dunnville $4,008
Glanbrook -$4,234

Average Sale Price Increase (%), Jan-Sept 2013 vs Jan-Sept 2012

Flamborough 13.41%
Waterdown 10.98%
Caledonia 9.75%
Dundas 9.37%
Hamilton Centre 9.36%
Hamilton West 7.86%
Burlington 7.47%
Hamilton Mountain 5.98%
Hamilton East 4.97%
Stoney Creek 4.59%
Ancaster 4.16%
Dunnville 2.07%
Grimsby 1.65%
Glanbrook -1.23%

Volume of Units Sold (%), Jan-Sept 2013 vs Jan-Sept 2012

Hamilton Mountain +22.20%
Ancaster +14.29%
Glanbrook +12.68%
Hamilton Centre +4.99%
Waterdown +2.86%
Grimsby -0.31%
Burlington -1.49%
Hamilton East -2.27%
Dunnville -4.41 %
Hamilton West -6.39%
Stoney Creek -7.98%
Dundas -11.19%
Flamborough -17.98%
Caledonia -27.54%

Source: Collated from RAHB Market Activity Reports

[SteelTown]

Hamilton's housing market to stay hot into 2014

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilt...2014-1.2303658

That’s the forecast from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the country’s national housing agency.

The CMHC says demand for existing homes will remain steady in the first half of next year, while construction of new homes will increase.

“The steady population increase from net migration has generated more households, which bodes well for the housing markets in Hamilton and Brantford,” Abdul Kargbo, the CMHC’s senior market analyst for the Hamilton and Brantford areas, said in a statement.

Kargbo's predictions come after the Hamilton area saw strong housing sales at the beginning of fall. September was another banner month for Hamilton’s housing market. A total of 1,207 were sold in Hamilton that month, one short of the record for September, set in 2009.

“Sales and listings for the month of September were both well above the 10-year average for the month,” Ross Godsoe, CEO for the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington, said in early October.

House prices also rose in September over the previous year. The RAHB reports the average home price for September was $392,013, an increase of nearly seven per cent from September 2012.

However, housing starts in the city dipped in the same month, trending at about 400 fewer units than the month of August.

The trend, monitored by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, is a six-month moving average. There were 2,451 units in September compared to 2,827 in August.

[thistleclub]

Another Q1-Q3 snapshot via CMHC:

Hamilton Housing Start Data by Type, Jan-Sept 2013 (Jan-Sept 2012)

Burlington
Single: 59 (75)
Semi: 2 (0)
Row: 153 (90)
Apt: 510 (338)
Total: 724 (503)

Hamilton (Amalgamated City)
Single: 802 (967)
Semi: 60 (88)
Row: 380 (655)
Apt: 107 (108)
Total: 1,349 (1,818)

Hamilton (Old City)
Single: 190 (201)
Semi: 10 (8)
Row: 31 (104)
Apt: 99 (66)
Total: 330 (379)

Ancaster
Single: 178 (188)
Semi: 0 (0)
Row: 36 (87)
Apt: 6 (39)
Total: 220 (314)

Dundas
Single: 4 (5)
Semi: 0 (0)
Row: 0 (0)
Apt: 0 (0)
Total: 4 (5)

Flamborough
Single: 93 (221)
Semi: 22 (34)
Row: 84 (77)
Apt: 2 (3)
Total: 201 (335)

Glanbrook
Single: 237 (217)
Semi: 0 (20)
Row: 152 (112)
Apt: 0 (0)
Total: 389 (349)

Stoney Creek
Single: 100 (135)
Semi: 28 (26)
Row: 69 (275)
Apt: 0 (0)
Total: 197 (436)

Grimsby
Single: 37 (31)
Semi: 0 (0)
Row: 73 (70)
Apt: 0 (0)
Total: 110 (101)

Total CMA Starts YTD
2,183 (2,422)


83% of CMA's apartment starts were in Burlington. 89% of CMA's single detached starts were in Hamilton.

[drpgq]

I've said it before on this thread, but Burlington is filled up for single houses. They can only go up. Population wise I'm guessing they will be stagnant as it becomes harder and harder to build new apartments in Burlington.

Originally Posted by thistleclub

Another Q1-Q3 snapshot via CMHC:

Hamilton Housing Start Data by Type, Jan-Sept 2013 (Jan-Sept 2012)

Burlington
Single: 59 (75)
Semi: 2 (0)
Row: 153 (90)
Apt: 510 (338)
Total: 724 (503)

Hamilton (Amalgamated City)
Single: 802 (967)
Semi: 60 (88)
Row: 380 (655)
Apt: 107 (108)
Total: 1,349 (1,818)

Hamilton (Old City)
Single: 190 (201)
Semi: 10 (8)
Row: 31 (104)
Apt: 99 (66)
Total: 330 (379)

Ancaster
Single: 178 (188)
Semi: 0 (0)
Row: 36 (87)
Apt: 6 (39)
Total: 220 (314)

Dundas
Single: 4 (5)
Semi: 0 (0)
Row: 0 (0)
Apt: 0 (0)
Total: 4 (5)

Flamborough
Single: 93 (221)
Semi: 22 (34)
Row: 84 (77)
Apt: 2 (3)
Total: 201 (335)

Glanbrook
Single: 237 (217)
Semi: 0 (20)
Row: 152 (112)
Apt: 0 (0)
Total: 389 (349)

Stoney Creek
Single: 100 (135)
Semi: 28 (26)
Row: 69 (275)
Apt: 0 (0)
Total: 197 (436)

Grimsby
Single: 37 (31)
Semi: 0 (0)
Row: 73 (70)
Apt: 0 (0)
Total: 110 (101)

Total CMA Starts YTD
2,183 (2,422)


83% of CMA's apartment starts were in Burlington. 89% of CMA's single detached starts were in Hamilton.

[Beedok]

Flamborough seems to be trying to grab the difference.

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by drpgq

I've said it before on this thread, but Burlington is filled up for single houses. They can only go up. Population wise I'm guessing they will be stagnant as it becomes harder and harder to build new apartments in Burlington.

An interesting comparison is pre-amalgamation Hamilton. In the period 2006-2011, Burlington's population grew by a bit over 11,000 residents, roughly as many residents as "Old Hamilton" did between 1991 and 2011.

Burlington is forecast to add another 11,000 residents over the next 20 years, "Old Hamilton" about half that.

While "Old Hamilton" is twice as populous as Burlington, there appears to be only a fraction of that city's appetite for new density here. 90% of Burlington's starts YTD have been medium- and high-density options. In amalgamated Hamilton, meanwhile, 70% of starts have been low-density.

While both cities saw a 50% bump in apartment starts year-over-year, Burlington's numbers are five times that of Hamilton. On top of that, Hamilton posted around twice as many single starts as apartment starts. Evidently we still have elbow room.

[thistleclub]

Hamilton housing prices dip in October
(CBC Hamilton, Nov 15 2013)

Both the number of homes sold in Hamilton and the average selling price dropped in October compared to the previous month.

According to figures released Friday by The Canadian Real Estate Association, the number of homes sold in the Hamilton-Burlington area dropped by 7.5 per cent last month from September. However, the number is still up 8.9 per cent from October of last year.

The average housing price also dipped by 6.9 per cent, but is up 13.4 percent when compared to October of 2012.

[thistleclub]

Broad-brush market update via CMHC's latest Monthly Housing Statistics:

Dwelling Starts by Urban Area, Hamilton CMA

Single Detached
Oct 2012: 125
Oct 2013: 81
Jan-Oct 2012: 1,286
Jan-Oct 2013: 1,041

Row, Apt & Other
Oct 2012: 18
Oct 2013: 80
Jan-Oct 2012: 1,279
Jan-Oct 2013: 1,303

[thistleclub]

Belatedly, from RAHB’s October 2013 Market Report:

The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1207 properties sold through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) system in October. This represents a 9.4 per cent increase in the number of sales over October of last year. The average sale price of $397,403 was an increase of 3.9 per cent over the previous October. There were 1730 properties listed in October, an increase of five per cent over October of last year. End-of-month listing inventory is 6.3 per cent lower than last year.… Seasonally adjusted* sales of residential properties were 11.7 per cent higher than the same month last year, with the average sale price up 5.6 per cent for the month. Seasonally adjusted numbers of new listings were 6.5 per cent higher than the same month last year.

Average Sale Price, Oct 2013

Flamborough $553,164
Ancaster $501,211
Burlington $469,478
Waterdown $441,494
Glanbrook $399,567
Hamilton West $385,165
Dundas $374,233
Grimsby $369,987
Stoney Creek $313,821
Hamilton Mountain $296,482
Caledonia $280,136
Hamilton East $207,869
Dunnville $189,744
Hamilton Centre $186,954

Average Sale Price Increase ($), Oct 2013 vs Oct 2012

Hamilton West $83,191
Glanbrook $70,120
Hamilton Mountain $39,993
Hamilton Centre $31,118
Grimsby $28,674
Ancaster $26,411
Waterdown $15,652
Hamilton East $13,107
Dundas $11,772
Caledonia $7,421
Burlington $6,010
Flamborough -$4,752
Stoney Creek -$15,544
Dunnville -$33,456

Average Sale Price Increase (%), Oct 2013 vs Oct 2012

Hamilton West 27.55%
Glanbrook 21.28%
Hamilton Centre 19.97%
Hamilton Mountain 15.59%
Grimsby 8.40%
Hamilton East 7.63%
Ancaster 5.56%
Waterdown 3.68%
Dundas 3.25%
Caledonia 2.72%
Burlington 1.30%
Flamborough -0.85%
Stoney Creek -4.72%
Dunnville -14.90%

Source: RAHB Market Reports

[drpgq]

That's a pretty crazy year over year price increase for West Hamilton, especially compared to Burlington.

[thistleclub]

The monthly numbers are highly variable. Really depends on what buildings are on the market at any given time.

YTD data is generally a bit more telling:

Average Sale Price, Jan-Oct 2013

Flamborough $531,921
Burlington $485,015
Ancaster $481,718
Waterdown $440,291
Dundas $387,598
Grimsby $356,867
Glanbrook $344,731
Stoney Creek $325,778
Hamilton West $323,060
Caledonia $287,582
Hamilton Mountain $281,984
Hamilton East $208,348
Dunnville $196,644
Hamilton Centre $177,693

Average Sale Price Increase ($), Jan-Oct 2013 vs Jan-Oct 2012

Flamborough $55,878
Waterdown $40,764
Dundas $31,188
Burlington $31,038
Hamilton West $29,044
Caledonia $23,807
Ancaster $19,861
Hamilton Mountain $18,257
Hamilton Centre $16,722
Stoney Creek $11,375
Hamilton East $10,190
Grimsby $8,067
Glanbrook $4,201
Dunnville $261

Average Sale Price Increase (%), Jan-Oct 2013 vs Jan-Oct 2012

Flamborough 11.74%
Hamilton Centre 10.39%
Waterdown 10.20%
Hamilton West 9.88%
Caledonia 9.03%
Dundas 8.75%
Hamilton Mountain 6.92%
Burlington 6.84%
Hamilton East 5.14%
Ancaster 4.30%
Stoney Creek 3.62%
Grimsby 2.31%
Dunnville 1.33%
Glanbrook 1.23%

Volume of Units Sold (%), Jan-Oct 2013 vs Jan-Oct 2012

Hamilton Mountain +20.83%
Dunnville +20.00 %
Ancaster +13.54%
Glanbrook +12.85%
Hamilton Centre +7.84%
Waterdown +2.57%
Grimsby +1.38%
Burlington -0.43%
Hamilton East -2.33%
Stoney Creek -4.74%
Hamilton West -7.32%
Dundas -10.19%
Flamborough -15.38%
Caledonia -17.88%

Source: Collated from RAHB Market Activity Reports

[markbarbera]

This is a discussion that is long overdue. I am glad Terry Whitehead is bringing it forward.

Is the swelling condo market hurting renters?

One councillor wants to find out if condo conversions are squeezing out renters

Yet another apartment building is being converted to condos, and at least one city councillor wants to know the impact such conversions have on low-income renters.

Coun. Terry Whitehead will introduce a motion at an upcoming emergency and community services committee asking how condo conversions impact the affordable apartment market. He also wants to know whether Hamilton has a healthy amount of available rental property...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilt...ters-1.2449194

[thistleclub]

The switch from apartment to condo may also alter the taxation class. This was touched on in recent GIC report Hamilton Downtown Urban Growth Centre: Municipal Taxes for the Years 2008 to 2012 (FCS13091):

• 125 Wellington St N changed from Multi-residential (apartment) to Residential (condo) in 2012 resulting in a municipal tax reduction of -$570K gross (-$240K net);

CMHC has stats on area rental stock, though I believe only as current as Fall 2012. Vacancy rate varies by where you are in the CMA: the Mountain, Grimsby and Stoney Creek stood at 3.3%, the lower city 3.7%-5.1%, Ancaster/Dundas/Glamborough/Glanbrook 1.8%, and Burlington 1.3%