House prices in Hamilton-Burlington down 7% since the summer

If you plan on buying a home in the Burlington-Hamilton area this year, you might be relieved to hear that house prices are down from the highs they reached in June 2023. 

According to a recent report by real estate website and brokerage Zoocasa, the national benchmark price (as recorded by the Canadian Real Estate Association) peaked in June of last year, propelling the national price to $760,600. After that, prices in many markets–including Hamilton and Burlington (the data for the two cities is combined) began a five-month decrease.

The report says that in November 2023, the benchmark price hit $805,700 in Hamilton-Burlingtown–down 7.7 per cent from June 2023 when the unadjusted benchmark price across the market area covered by the Realtor’s Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) was $873,100.

Prices are also down year-over-year, with the benchmark price in Hamilton-Burlington falling 2.5 per cent from November 2022.

Other cities also saw a drop in prices, something the report attributes to both seasonality (real estate activity tends to slow in the fall and winter) and increased borrowing costs. But while prices remain higher than they were pre-pandemic, buyers are benefitting from lower prices. 

“…Motivated buyers considering entering the market now may find that prices are more in line with their budget compared to the hot spring and summer markets,” the report reads, adding that Zoocasa analyzed benchmark price data for 21 major markets across Canada and compared how prices have changed in the past few months and year. 

According to the report, only three of the 21 markets analyzed saw prices climb between June and November. Prices declined the most in the Kitchener-Waterloo area during that same period, falling close to 9 per cent. 

Other areas that experienced price declines greater than three per cent between June and November include Ottawa, Winnipeg, the Niagara Region, Guelph and the GTA. 

“As demand has fallen off in these Ontario markets, prices have been able to stabilize closer to pre-pandemic levels,” the report reads.  

Markets where prices rose between the summer and fall include Calgary, St. John’s and Saint John. 

The prices of single-family homes in Hamilton-Burlington also dropped. According to the report, prices dropped 8.5 per cent, with November’s benchmark price falling to $864,200–a 2.2 per cent decrease from 2022. 

Condo prices, on the other hand, remained fairly steady, falling just 0.9 per cent to hit $548,500–also down 2.2 per cent from November 2022. 

“Demand for more affordable property types remained steady in 2023, especially as many buyers were forced to grapple with higher interest rates. Consequently, this led to condo prices not experiencing as significant a drop as those of single-family homes,” the report reads. 

Condo prices went up in nine cities analyzed, including Saint John, St. John’s, Calgary and Halifax-Dartmouth.