Housing market

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by adam

I'd be surprised if we didn't see a housing crash in '09 through to '10

Is that the scary Halloween prediction?

IMO, the market in Canada is not in a bubble like setting. I agree some markets are overbought (i.e. Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, parts of T.O., etc), but I would expect lower city Hamilton will be fairly insulated against large scale drops.

Homes are still selling since the financial/stock market in my neighbourhood (South Stipeley) and in my friends neighbourhood (Barton & Wentworth). And many are still people from the Toronto area. That's one more thing the lower city has in it's favour.

[IronWarrior]

If you look near the escarpment 'southwest'... some of those homes have very big yards/gardens! even check out some of the areas around Gore Park, like on Rosslyn street and around it...you will find some veru nice homes there in the 259,000 price range.

[BCTed]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

prices depends on where in the city. Meadowlands and other suburban sprawl projects have seen prices already drop by 5% in the past year. Expect that trend to continue. Hopefully for many years

You want to make certain that houses stay affordable in the suburbs?

[adam]

I'm not sure why people believe house prices will steadily climb -- or even maintain value -- in the midst of a long drawn-out economic recession. Maybe most of the drops will be seen in Toronto condo markets, but who knows?

Baby boomers are beginning to downsize..... Large 3+ bedroom and 2+ bathroom homes up for sale.. someone has to buy them! Younger families don't want to pay huge gas and electricity bills and spend all saturday cutting lawns.

These baby boomers are a huge segment of the population and its a statistical fact that they are reaching the end of their spending cycle. This will compound the negative economic effects we are seeing.. Products will stay on the shelves longer, production across all industries will have to go down -- we haven't even seen this effect in any great way yet.

Hope for the best, but lets be prepared for some rough times ahead.. lower house prices will be a positive thing for young people and young families just starting out. Its not all bad... we definitely can't keep inflating inflating inflating when an ever increasing proportion of our population will be in the retiree category. Invest in companies offering geriatric supplies now!!

[comadriver]

Originally Posted by emge

My husband and I just started looking for places a couple months ago (we're in a very nice rental, and no rush to move) --- I'm not hoping for any huge drop in prices except for the market being slower in the winter. It would be nice if some of this market stuff translated into a better deal at the right time, though.

I'm impressed by what we've seen so far, though... perhaps coming from Toronto is a big part of that. I've always wanted to get an old house and redo it well... here that's a realistic possibility.

It also solidifies that we'll definitely be staying in Hamilton over the long-term, which I'm all for... and when it comes eventual time to sell, I'm sure it'll pay off.

Emge, my wife and I did the absolute same thing. We currently live in Port Credit in a nice rental with beautiful lake views. We started looking around last month, thinking we would start seriously looking next spring. Next thing we knew, we are closing this December. Could not pass by this cute solid house next to Gage park in need of a "decorating touch" for 60K less than the original asking price. A similar house next door sold for 95K more last year. I can't imagine more of a buyer's market than it is now. We too are confident we will win in the long run. If there is one thing John McCain and I could ever agree on would be that "the fundamentals of our economy are still strong". When the panic in the financial sector is over, those who stayed ahead fo the curve will cash in.

Good luck with your house search!!

[emge]

Thanks, comadriver. Let us know how the updates on the house go -- I love before/afters and seeing properties transformed (and by extension, a small part of our city transformed).

We started looking at a lot of houses and had a lot of options, then realized we really have our hearts set on a 2.5 story we can add a master suite to in the attic.

That narrows our search somewhat, but Hamilton is certainly still a great city to find such a house... however long it takes to find the right price/area combination

[raisethehammer]

why do we have two 'housing market' threads?

[flar]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

why do we have two 'housing market' threads?

I merged them, now there is only one

[SteelTown]

House prices on the decline

Ken Mann
11/4/2008

It's a buyer's market.

The latest figures from the Hamilton-Burlington Realtor's Association continue to show a dramatic shift in resale figures.

For starters, the average price decreased by 8.7% in October, when compared to the same time last year. It's the first time that has happened in several years.

The number of properties sold last month also plunged by more than 27%, to a total of 926. Year-to-date sales are down about 10%.

[SteelTown]

I would be more interested in what's happening with resales stats compared to brand new homes.

[realcity]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

House prices on the decline

Ken Mann
11/4/2008

It's a buyer's market.

The latest figures from the Hamilton-Burlington Realtor's Association continue to show a dramatic shift in resale figures.

For starters, the average price decreased by 8.7% in October, when compared to the same time last year. It's the first time that has happened in several years.

The number of properties sold last month also plunged by more than 27%, to a total of 926. Year-to-date sales are down about 10%.

You know you'll never hear anything like this coming from the Realtors Association. It's always like "everything is good"

[SteelTown]

Local housing sales drop 27 per cent
Average price falls 7.2 per cent

November 05, 2008
Meredith MacLeod
The Hamilton Spectator

It’s a good time to buy a home but maybe not such great news for sellers.

Total sales in Hamilton and Burlington dropped 27.3 per cent last month over the same month a year ago, according to figures released today by the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington. The average price of freehold residential properties dropped 8.7 per cent to $268,805 and condominiums fell 7.2 per cent to $196,899.

At the same time, the total number of units (including residential properties, commercial properties, farmland and businesses) listed for sale in October was 1,849, which is 18.4 per cent more than were listed in October 2007.

[realcity]

Burn....

well i'll make an amendment. The Realtors' Association will either always say "it's a good time buy" or "it's a good time to sell".

They're one of the most self-serving industries that pretend to advocate for buyers and sellers. At least lawyers are honest about it.

[SteelTown]

We'll likely see an increase in GTAers settling in Hamilton with these bargain prices. Especially for new homes, they are throwing all these specials like free fireplace, marble countertop, hardwood floors. etc.

[realcity]

until they find no work in Hamilton and get tired of the commute back into the GTA

[adam]

way to promote your city

[highwater]

Originally Posted by realcity

until they find no work in Hamilton and get tired of the commute back into the GTA

...and start their own businesses in Hamilton, like some I know.

[realcity]

Originally Posted by highwater

...and start their own businesses in Hamilton, like some I know.

which is what i did too

but there's no ignoring the fact that a generation is leaving this city for other parts of the GTA and AB and BC. It's not that different from US rust-belts and CDN maritimes. I'm only trying to be honest with the facts.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Local housing sales drop 27 per cent
Average price falls 7.2 per cent

November 05, 2008
Meredith MacLeod
The Hamilton Spectator

It’s a good time to buy a home but maybe not such great news for sellers.

Total sales in Hamilton and Burlington dropped 27.3 per cent last month over the same month a year ago, according to figures released today by the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington. The average price of freehold residential properties dropped 8.7 per cent to $268,805 and condominiums fell 7.2 per cent to $196,899.

At the same time, the total number of units (including residential properties, commercial properties, farmland and businesses) listed for sale in October was 1,849, which is 18.4 per cent more than were listed in October 2007.

Our region has better than the GTA's stats.

The number of resale home deals fell 35 per cent in the Greater Toronto Area last month compared with a year earlier, according to a tally by the Toronto Real Estate Board.

And the average price was down 10.6 per cent, to $352,974 from $394,646.

I think that shows our area was always healthier than the GTA's, and I would hazard a guess the lower city has held up better than other parts of Hamilton and Burlington.

[Berklon]

Keep dropping baby.

Berklon needs to buy a house.