2020 marked year of ‘unprecedented’ growth for Hamilton-area real estate market

Fallon Hewitt - Spectator Reporter

from on 2021-01-27 12:00 (#5DCTR)

Not even a global pandemic could stop the Hamilton-area real estate market from growing last year - and in more ways than one.

Nearly 15,000 homes were sold in 2020, marking an 8.4 per cent increase from 2019, while the average price of a home rose by 16.8 per cent to just a little more than $690,000, based on the latest figures released by the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB).

The latter is the most surprising" figure, said RAHB president Donna Bacher, in an email to The Spectator.

An almost 17 per cent growth in the average price - growth that would normally take two to three years to match - with sales and new listings being relatively normal is crazy," said Bacher. Even crazier is this unprecedented growth in average price happening in a year that was unprecedented to begin with."

The market experienced a slight slowdown" in March and April as the world ground to a halt due to COVID-19.

In April, the organization reported 484 residential sales in the month of April, a decline of 63.4 per cent compared to April 2019 and 56 per cent compared to March. Realtors pivoted in the wake of changing public health guidelines - and like everything else, open houses and showings went virtual.

The association had expected 2020 to be a good market," but the uncertainty" around lockdowns stifled their expectations.

Bacher credited the unexpected" gains to government stimulus packages" as well as low-interest rates.

They also saw an influx of new buyers they never could have predicted.

I don't believe we expected the flee to detached homes and the migration radiating outward from Toronto influencing the number of sales in the (our) market area," said Bacher.

In Hamilton, a detached single-family home sat on the market for an average of 24 days in 2020 compared to 31 in 2019. For Hamilton semi-detached, townhouses and row houses, the average number of days on the market was just 18, compared to 29 in 2019.

No community in the area covered by RAHB, which includes Niagara North and Haldimand County, saw a drop in their average home price last year, but new listings were down 7.4 per cent across the board compared to 2019.

Bacher said that the issue of supply and demand" continues to drive up the prices of homes.

Back in 2010, the average price of a home in the region was $310,258 - last year's stats represent a 125 per cent increase in the last decade, according to the association.

By the numbers

Hamilton saw a 10 per cent increase in sales, with the average price of a home rising by 18 per cent to $629,961.

Around the city, Ancaster experienced the highest jump in the number of sales with an increase of 26.7 per cent over 2019, while the Hamilton Mountain saw 2,113 home sales - topping the 2,045 processed in 2019. Dundas saw the largest drop in sales, falling to 304 sales from 323 in 2019.

Flamborough held the highest average sale price at $969,322, but Bacher said that could be skewed by property size and type.

Burlington saw sales increase by six per cent and the average price of a home climb to $878,372.

Haldimand saw the most dramatic drop of listings, with a decrease of 19 per cent. But, the average price of a home in the area increased to $547,355 and the numbers of sales rose by seven per cent.

Niagara North saw an 11 per cent increase in sales, with the average price of a home rising by 15 per cent to $664,921.

Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com