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  #41  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 1:50 PM
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My parents are searching for a new house and there are plenty of houses on the market. Though I'm noticing there's more brand new homes on the market than resales of existing houses.

I guess it's a buyers market with house prices either staying flat or dropping a bit. Opposite for lower Hamilton though, prices are climbing.
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  #42  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 2:12 PM
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For the most part, houses in our neighbourhood are still selling. And there is lots of money being spent on fixing up the homes.

I think the lower city offers value for money and will be largely protected against any downturn in the market. If there is any decrease in prices it will be minor compared to other (newer) areas.
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  #43  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 2:34 PM
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^^ I don't know about upper Stoney Creek.
The houses seem to be selling as fast as ever, especially now that all the new stuff is going up (there used to be literally NOTHING to do up there).

My mom is also selling her house this fall, we'll see how that goes. But I think she's in an area where it's still a sellers market (esp since the new townhouses are smaller, have no yards and are way more expensive).

I'm happy to hear about the lower city. Hopefully the secret pockets of cheap/nice houses are kept secrets so when I'm ready to buy I wont have to pay $600,000 for regular-sized Victorian home (oh Toronto).
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  #44  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 2:39 PM
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I was talking to one of the lady in the model houses at Summit Park and she said most of the people buying there are from Hamilton. She said Hamiltonians are moving to Summit Park well GTAers tend to buy the house they moved out.

The townhouses are now $10,000 more than they were when they were first building at Summit Park. I found how much they were selling when the townhouses were first going up, $10,000 difference. Probably a bigger difference for the houses.
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  #45  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 2:58 PM
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  #46  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 3:46 PM
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Garth Turner is one of the more vocal voices of the doom and gloom housing market scenario. His website www.garth.ca is a good read. His housing predictions are also pretty bang on (off a few months, time wise) if you read his blog posts from a year ago.

Of course he focuses mostly on Halton so his analysis of the market is really an analysis of the suburban sprawl housing market. Which I think is a little different than the Hamilton resale market.

Burlington, Oakville, Milton are all horribly over priced in my opinion, Hamilton and to a lesser extent the burbs of Hamilton still have good value... for now.
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  #47  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 4:07 PM
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don't trust what Real Estate Professionals ever say about the state of the real estate market. You will never hear them saying that it is going down, if ever, they give minor reasons and use tactical words to make the downturn seem less than it is. They are morons. Sell your house privately and buy a house privately. Lawyers do all the work anyway. Real Estate Agent is the new Unemployment Insurance.
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  #48  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 4:52 PM
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I also think the lower city prices will be protected by the flight of Toronto/GTAer's looking for mature neighbourhoods that are extremely expensive in TO.

The little section of our street where we live is a good case in point, 18 houses in the section, and 4 homes sold so far in 2008.

3 to people from Toronto (including us), and 1 to a couple from Guelph.
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  #49  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 4:56 PM
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It'll have to be out of towners. Some friends of ours from Dundas are looking at houses, but like Steeltown's parents, they keep looking at new developments on the edge of the city. Mentioning lower Hamilton stops the conversation dead. I just can't see spending $300K on a suburban tract house when you could get something so much better for so much cheaper. "But it's in Hamilton!"
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  #50  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2008, 9:13 AM
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Just curious. As I plan to buy a place there in '09. What's the housing market in Hamilton likely to do in '09?

In London UK, my property has lost a lovely £30k, almost $60k in the last 6 months thanks to the credit crunch, so I'm a bit upset about that! It means that when I sell next year, I won't be able to buy as nice a place as I was hoping to buy in Hamilton (assuming prices here haven't dropped further by then!). I've gone from having almost $200k to spend on a place to almost $140k

I have read a few reports that suggest that, thanks to economic conditions, Ontario's housing market will be flat in '09. Will this be true in Hamilton? Or do you think prices will continue to rise in '09?

Are there any sites/sources that people know of which have Hamilton House Price predictions for '09 and beyond? Are there any maps/charts which show the areas which have the most expensive properties in the city and the highest/lowest predicted price rises?
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  #51  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2008, 1:05 PM
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I would expect that houses in the lower city to remain stable with some steady increases in pricing.

I think you'll find greater differences in market conditions (pricing ups and downs) between the lower city and the 'suburban' areas, than market differences between different lower city neighbourhoods.

I think the lower city is somewhat protected from pricing decreases as the prices are already low vis-a-vis what you get for your money. That coupled with higher fuel prices and ready access to services (i.e. transit, healthcare, stores, etc) protect the lower city prices.

$200K would buy a nice sized home in an nice area that is rapidly gentrifying like my neighbourhood just east of Sherman between King & Main. You'd get a south address (more desireable) and be a stones throw from the very nice neighbourhood of Blakely. Close the the King and Main Steet transit corridors.

I think $140K would put in you on the North side of King which has a lot of neighbourhoods that while a little rough around the edges are also gentrifying. My friend paid $97K (I think he overpaid by $6K - 7K) for his home in the Wentworth & Barton area 18 months ago and 2 of his neighbours homes are on the marke to for $135K now. He's thinking of putting his on the market at $139K, but he will only break even after all improvements and fees are taken into account.

It's worth noting that any house, no matter where you purchase, will need a budget of at least $10K for improvements, and more likely $15K - $25K depending on condition. There is all kinds of work being done all over our neighbourhood, new roofs, new windows, new electrical, new porches, etc...... There's hardly a street without at least one house having a dumpster out front.
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  #52  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2008, 1:10 PM
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not too sure about 09 predictions, but over the past year prices on the Mountain and Ancaster dropped 2% while prices in the lower city (what you probably know as 'Hamilton' itself), have risen by 5%. 5% may not seem like a lot, but it's fairly significant considering it takes the entire lower city into account - steelmill neighbourhoods and all.
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  #53  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2008, 1:12 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FairHamilton View Post
I would expect that houses in the lower city to remain stable with some steady increases in pricing.

I think you'll find greater differences in market conditions (pricing ups and downs) between the lower city and the 'suburban' areas, than market differences between different lower city neighbourhoods.

I think the lower city is somewhat protected from pricing decreases as the prices are already low vis-a-vis what you get for your money. That coupled with higher fuel prices and ready access to services (i.e. transit, healthcare, stores, etc) protect the lower city prices.

$200K would buy a nice sized home in an nice area that is rapidly gentrifying like my neighbourhood just east of Sherman between King & Main. You'd get a south address (more desireable) and be a stones throw from the very nice neighbourhood of Blakely. Close the the King and Main Steet transit corridors.

I think $140K would put in you on the North side of King which has a lot of neighbourhoods that while a little rough around the edges are also gentrifying. My friend paid $97K (I think he overpaid by $6K - 7K) for his home in the Wentworth & Barton area 18 months ago and 2 of his neighbours homes are on the marke to for $135K now. He's thinking of putting his on the market at $139K, but he will only break even after all improvements and fees are taken into account.

It's worth noting that any house, no matter where you purchase, will need a budget of at least $10K for improvements, and more likely $15K - $25K depending on condition. There is all kinds of work being done all over our neighbourhood, new roofs, new windows, new electrical, new porches, etc...... There's hardly a street without at least one house having a dumpster out front.

I know someone who just bought in the Cannon/Sherman area for $159,000...and someone else who bought on the same street/almost identical home (but not nearly as nice inside) for $165,000 3 months later.
Granted, the first house seemed to be a good deal. Apparently it was.
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  #54  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2008, 1:16 PM
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The housing market is starting to slip off the rails in Hamilton. In Halton Region just down the road things are a down right train wreck. Right now houses that are priced right are taking 2 -3 months to sell. I've been watching a few over priced houses in Ancaster and the Burbs that have been on the Market since Feb - March.

It will be a full blown buyers market by the time 2009 rolls around in my opinion. The real estate company analysts will tell you everything is sunshine and roses for 2009 but don't count on it. If you buy a house in 2009 it will be worth slightly less in 2010, by 2011 you might recoup your loses and by 2012 we'll be looking at a healthy housing market again... these are just my guesses of course, I'm not an expert, I just watch and observe things.
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  #55  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2008, 2:19 PM
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Originally Posted by raisethehammer View Post
I know someone who just bought in the Cannon/Sherman area for $159,000...and someone else who bought on the same street/almost identical home (but not nearly as nice inside) for $165,000 3 months later.
Granted, the first house seemed to be a good deal. Apparently it was.
$6K isn't that big a price difference. That's only the difference in one feature, i.e a newer roof vs. a 15 year old roof, or updated wiring vs. knob & tube or a newer kitchen/bathroom.
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  #56  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2008, 2:41 PM
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I've been going with my parents doing some house hunting and the new houses are throwing these great benefits lately. Some places are including free fireplace with upgrades like kitchen granite countertop and hardwood floors. Some even with $15,000 worth of upgrade.

I've convinced my parents to hold off for the development at the Chedoke browland. They will probably throw freebies as well. I think that area will be a stable area, not too suburban.
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  #57  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2008, 2:48 PM
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I am also wondering if a variable rate mortgage is the route to go as well. Many times it isn't wise to get this but not with many changes in rates it can be a good way to go. There hasn't been much increase in mortgage rates the past while. My mortgage renews at the end of the year and I am thinking of taking the variable rate. A variable rate is about 4.750% for an open at the time.
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  #58  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2008, 3:00 PM
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Oh Branthaven is going to have this special, pick one of the three doors and get whatever is inside the door, could be $15,000 worth of upgrade, free applicances, free fireplace, free deck, granite countertop, etc.
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  #59  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2008, 3:36 PM
FairHamilton FairHamilton is offline
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I am also wondering if a variable rate mortgage is the route to go as well. Many times it isn't wise to get this but not with many changes in rates it can be a good way to go. There hasn't been much increase in mortgage rates the past while. My mortgage renews at the end of the year and I am thinking of taking the variable rate. A variable rate is about 4.750% for an open at the time.
We chose the variable rate, because I thought it was the way to go at least for the short-term. 6 months in and we've seen one .25pt drop in the rate and a few where it was expected by the Bank of Canada held firm. Our mortage is relatively small so that reduced much of the risk.

Personally, I don't think interest rates are going to increase by much in the next 2 years (but I'm no expert).

Ultimately, it depends on your tolerance for risk, and the size of your mortgage (i.e. potential savings vs. potential added expenses). If you like predictability then go fixed.
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  #60  
Old Posted Sep 23, 2008, 11:19 PM
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A lot of young couples are buying houses in new subdivisions for over $600k in the GTA. They'll be in up over their heads soon enough. When the housing market crashes (it hasn't yet!) their value will plummet but they'll still have a $600k mortgage. This scenario will play out on a grand scale. There will be too many houses and not enough buyers.. prices will come down but interest rates will go up.
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