The Realtors® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1,102 home sales in the area for the month of April. There were also 1,566 new listings reported. This marks the first time in a little over a year that the sales-to-new-listings ratio exceeded 70%. 

Higher sales slightly strained inventory in the region, which caused supply levels to trend down. But there were still 1.6 months of supply for Hamilton-Burlington, which is an increase over 2020 and 2021, but is much lower than we saw mid-to-late 2022. 

Many experts report that we have reached the bottom of the market and that low supply and increased sales are “supporting an upward shift in prices in the region.” The unadjusted benchmark price for the area was $868,700, which marks the fourth month in a row of price increases. 

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Let’s take a closer look at what happened in the local real estate market last month:

Hamilton Market Activity

Variable2023Difference
Sales Activity644-18.2%
New Listings930-36.6%
Active Listings1,0225.9%
Months of Inventory1.629.4%
Average Price $806,809-14.3%
Median Price$750,000-12.9%
Average Days on Market23.1134.5%

Burlington Market Activity

Variable2023Difference
Sales Activity270-1.5%
New Listings336-35.8%
Active Listings285-16.4%
Months of Inventory1.1-15.2%
Average Price $1,144,424-7.1%
Median Price$1,055,000-2.8%
Average Days on Market18.9117.5%

Are you thinking about buying or selling soon? Before you move, make sure you are up-to-date with the local real estate market. You can read our past Hamilton-Burlington real estate market report updates right here.

Sales Activity 

Sales in Hamilton were down 18.2% year-over-year with 644 sales reported through the MLS®. There were 270 sales reported in Burlington, which was down only 1.5% year-over-year. 

New Listings

New listings in Hamilton were down 36.6% over last year with 930 homes listed in April. Burlington saw similar year-over-year decreases, down 35.8% with 336 new listings in April. 

Active Listings

Inventory, also known as “active listings”, were up 5.9% in Hamilton over April 2022. There were 1,022 active listings last month. Inventory in Burlington was down about 16.4% year-over-year, with 285 active listings. 

Months of Inventory

Months of inventory was up in Hamilton by 29.4% at 1.6 for April 2023. Burlington’s months of supply was down 15.2% over April 2022 with 1.1. Months of inventory, or supply, are often used as a measure of market conditions. Anything below 3 months is usually considered to be a strong seller’s market. 

Average Days on Market

Similarly to last month, average days on market were also up considerably in both cities. Hamilton had 23.1 days on market on average (up 134.5% over last year) and Burlington had 18.9 average days on market (up 117.5% over last year).

Average Prices

Although the average price in the region climbed for the fourth consecutive month, prices are still down over last year. The residential average price in Hamilton was $806,809, down 14.3% over 2022. In Burlington, the average price was $1,144,424, which was down 7.1% over last year. 

In the News

The Bank of Canada decided to hold interest rates again in April, signaling a likely end to the rate-hiking cycle. Both the RAHB and Toronto Regional Real Estate Board are reporting a “resilient” spring with home prices rising month-over-month. 

We have likely reached the bottom of the market, and most industry experts agree that home prices across the GTA and surrounding area will continue to rise throughout the rest of the year at least. 

A Look at What’s to Come

With the interest rate hiking cycle now complete, home values are trending upwards, in fact, they have been trending upward for the past 4 months now. Most experts agree that prices have bottomed out and the market will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. 

With fewer new listings on the market, inventory is tightening again–not at the same level we saw during the pandemic, but enough to increase competition and cause prices to rise. 

Many of our listings are receiving multiple offers and selling quite quickly compared to the latter half of 2022, and many buyers are facing increased competition and are losing out on bids. 

The buyers who held off buying for the past 8 months are now facing higher interest rates coupled with once again increasing home prices. Homes are less affordable now than they were one year ago, despite a year-over-year drop in prices. 

If you’re on the fence about buying right now, we strongly recommend getting into the market as soon as possible, as prices are only going to continue to increase. 

For sellers, now is a great time to put your home on the market. If current conditions persist, we will see record-low levels of inventory. Combined with record-high levels of immigration, we will have the perfect storm for a hot housing market. 

Rising interest rates may have scared some buyers to the sidelines, but the hiking cycle was never meant to last, and stable rates are now giving buyers more confidence in the market. This is a great time to sell.

Are you thinking about making a real estate move in the near future? Call us at 1-844-484-SOLD or email us here for everything you need to know about buying and selling in this market.