Year In Review for 2020

Statistics & Property Values Report!

What. A. Year! For so many people, and for so many reasons (some good, and lots not so good), 2020 will go down in the history books as one of THE most memorable years. January and February started off fairly well in the Hamilton and Area Real Estate Market, with signs pointing towards a continuation of the strong Sellers Market that was seen at the end of 2019, even though more properties were being listed, making it a little easier on Buyers purchasing a home. Things changed fairly drastically over the next couple of months, starting March 11th, 2020, as COVID-19 was declared a Pandemic. Listings dropped from 1661 in March to only 827 in April. The List-To-Sell Ratio dropped to the lowest point since September 2019 when it was 56% to 58.5% in April 2020, when there were only 482 Sales for the 827 New Listings. This Balanced Market was very short-lived. The Sales to New Listings Ratio increased throughout the rest of the year and by December 2020 reached an astonishing 143%, with 913 Sales for the 639 New Listings. 2019 had an overall 67.27% compared to 81.51% for all of 2020. Many factors contributed to this extremely strong Sellers Market, including such things as people staying put and renovating instead of selling. Working from home meant commuters could take advantage of the low prices Hamilton had to offer instead of buying something much smaller to be closer to work in and around Toronto. Fear of exposure to COVID-19 also prompted many people to delay putting their homes up for sale. Early predictions tended towards a more Balanced Market, stating the loss of jobs, decreased wages, and extended lockdowns would push more and more people to the point of selling.

Average Residential Selling Prices went from $608,441 in 2019 to $714,016 in 2020! Condominium Average Selling Price also jumped significantly from $439,700 in 2019 to $494,863 in 2020. Multiple Offers, Pre-Emptive (also known as Bully) Offers, line ups to get into properties for sale, selling much higher than the asking prices were all a normal part of Real Estate this year. A common strategy used was to list a property for sale under the perceived Market Value to garner extreme exposure and to “Hold Offers” till a pre-determined date, usually 5-7 days from the listing date, when the Seller would then review all the offers at that time. One of my clients was one of 51 Offers on a house that was listed below market value and ended up selling for $175,000 over the listing price. This type of market also meant very few offers were accepted with conditions which meant Buyers were sometimes paying for a Pre-Purchase Home Inspection before submitting their Offer and ALWAYS making sure their Mortgage Pre-Approval was done. Working closely with your trusted Mortgage Professional is imperative if you are considering putting in an Offer To Purchase without a condition on financing. As an example of what could happen, you personally may be approved for a Purchase Price of $750,000. If your bank or lender does an appraisal on the property and determines it only has a Market Value of $710,000 you would need to come up with an EXTRA $40,000 for your Down Payment before closing and you may be sued by the homeowner if you try to back out of your FIRM Deal (an Offer to Purchase with no conditions).

Overall Average Sales Prices increased year over year in every single district throughout The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) Area. In 2019 there were still 5 neighbourhoods within these districts where the average selling price was below $400,000. There is only one neighbourhood left in 2020 in this price category and that is the Industrial neighbourhood of District 21 in the Hamilton Centre Area with an Average Selling for 2020 of $368,257. Hamilton Centre has gone from an average of $390,622 in 2019 to $469,985 in 2020 and is the lowest Average Price in all of the areas RAHB covers. There are two Districts in Burlington with averages over a million; District 33 (including Elizabeth Gardens, Shoreacres and Roseland Neighbourhoods) average Selling Price of $1,275,916 for 2020 (up from $1,055,339 in 2019) and District 38, the North Burlington Rural Neighbourhood was $1,483,703 for 2020 (up from $1,091,443 in 2019). See the Maps below comparing more prices year over year. Types of homes sold in 2020 compared to 2019 showed that there were 2558 Bungalows sold in 2019 for an Average Selling Price of $545,00 and 2651 Bungalows sold in 2020 at an Average Selling Price of $640,810. 4526 2 Storey Houses sold in 2019 for an average of $682,889 and in 2020 there were 5059 2 Storey Sales for an average of $795,182.

See below for Average Selling Prices of Districts and Neighbourhoods in and around Hamilton Ontario, comparing average sales from 2020 to 5 (2015) and 10 (2010) years ago. Below these charts, you will find the Month of December 2020 Statistics Report.

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Average Selling Prices Compared to 2015 and 2010

Here is an overview of the 2020 Average Selling Prices for Residential Properties in and around Hamilton Ontario Canada, compared to 5 years ago (2015) and 10 years ago (2010).

Monthly Report For December 2020

December 2020 had only 639 Total Residential Listings come through the Hamilton Real Estate Board which was a huge drop, 47.9%, from the 1227 New Listings in November, however were up 34% from December 2019 (461) as reported by The REALTORS ® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB). Hamilton had 430 of those (up from 344 in 2019) and Burlington had 136 (down from 75 in 2019).

Residential Sales located throughout the RAHB market area (including Burlington and all outlying areas covered by RAHB) of 913 Properties were down 26% from November, however are up from December 2019 by 41.6%. Residential Sales in Hamilton (which includes Hamilton plus Flamborough, Dundas, Ancaster, Waterdown, Stoney Creek and Glanbrook) were 577 of that total and the Average Hamilton Residential Sales Price of those 577 in December 2020 was $661,783 up 25% from December 2019 ($528,525). Burlington had 172 Sales (up from 108 in 2019) with an Average Price of $961,908 (up from the $780,202 Average Price from December 2019). The end of month listing inventory shows only 356 Active Residential Listings, giving Hamilton 0.6 months of inventory, which is down 56% compared to 818 Properties still available for sale at the end of December last year which was 1.8 months of inventory. Burlington has 0.7 months of inventory (down 38%) with 125 active listings for sale. Average days on the market decreased from 37.6 to 20.5 this December for Hamilton and also decreased in Burlington from 33.2 to 25.6.

COVID-19 policies and safeguards are continuing, with virtual showings preferred, advanced 3D virtual tours and floor layouts, online evaluations, and some home inspections are being performed without the Buyers present or at least with proper protocols to keep everyone safe. Digital signatures are now the norm for all and are very simple to use. If you are thinking of selling your house or condominium, get the most up to date, LOCAL information. A Real Estate Market Evaluation and/or a Mortgage Pre-Approval done even a couple of months ago MUST be updated! Our main concern is still and always will be, the health and well being of you and your family. Please reach out if you have any questions or if you need any help!

The Hamilton – Burlington Area is experiencing a Very Strong Sellers Market, where the ratio of Homes Sold to Homes Listed is above 60%, currently sitting at 143% for Residential, (in other words, 14.3 homes are sold for every 10 new listings). This is the highest we have seen in a very long time.

Homes Sold to Homes Listed Ratio: Buyers Market is below 40%, Balanced Market is between 40-60%, and Sellers Market is above 60%.

MLS® Properties SOLD in December 2020

Note: Numbers of sales represents sales reported on properties listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) of the REALTORS Association of Hamilton-Burlington. Average sale price is calculated by dividing the total dollar volume of sales (not shown) by the number of sales in that month.