According to Royal Lepage’s House Price Index, Hamilton home values increased almost 25 percent in 2017. This is really positive news for the city, and it doesn’t come as any surprise to myself. We’ve seen incredible record appreciation over the last five years for Hamilton home values. Hamilton has turned the page and begun to recover after many decades of stagnation and decline. The growth that we experienced last year is higher than any other major Canadian city, including Toronto and Vancouver.

Is It All About Toronto?

Some articles have been attributing the recent price surges in Hamilton to Toronto buyers seeking affordability. While this does occur, it’s only one of the many reasons that the Hamilton market is leading the country in growth, and will continue to do so over the next few years.

There are many positive things happening here, making Hamilton a desirable place for buyers all over the country — not just Toronto. And we’re just getting started. There are so many things already in the works that are going to bring economic benefits to the city. We are going to increase our livability and our desirability, and this will equate to higher home values over the years to come. This is an extremely early stage of Hamilton’s growth, and it is only going to get better from here.

The people who get in early are obviously the ones who stand to reap the most benefit. Over the years, as many people notice what’s happening here, you’ll see things continue forward at a fast pace. The earlier you jump into the market the better. I could easily list 50-100 reasons why the city is exploding, but there are a few things that come immediately to mind:

• Pier 8 Promenade Park, which is set to begin construction later this coming year; it’s going to be a world-class waterfront park.
• Our Pier 7 and 8 community, which is just in the process of selecting a developer to complete the community. We’re talking about thousands of condos, commercial space for business as well as tons of space for enjoyment and recreation.
• Our one billion dollar LRT, which is still in planning, but is set to begin construction in the next 12 to 24 months.
• Our West Harbour Go Station, which has been recently completed but has not yet gone to all day go.
• Our Centennial Go Station, which is now under construction.
• GO expansion, connecting Hamilton all the way to Niagara Falls in the next five years.
• Hamilton Internation Airport’s passenger count more than doubled in 2017 and continues to grow. It is also the largest cargo airport in Canada.

Hamilton Is Developing Fast

We are the densest city outside of Toronto in Ontario. We’re the only city outside of Toronto with a port, international airport, universities, colleges, a massive medical community and a real downtown. No one else has this to offer except for Toronto. We’ve got better home values here, and we’re located right in the heart of the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

Our proximity to Toronto is only 45 minutes and only 45 minutes to the U.S. border; we are really positioned in the absolute best location you could ask for in this country. We have one of the most diverse economies in Canada. We had over a billion dollars in building permits issued just last year; which set a new record. And income growth is among the highest in all of Ontario this year. We’ve got countless new projects in the pipeline. But of course, these things take years of planning before they see the light of day.

I could go on and on as there are so many things happening. It’s not a shock that we’ve seen the price appreciation that we have. I suspect that we’ll see Hamilton continue to lead and be on top of the pack over the next few years as we regain our lost momentum. As much as Toronto is one contributing factor to the increase in Hamilton home values, it’s really only one of many.