Housing market

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by Beedok

How did Medium/High Density fall across the whole CMA more than the city proper yet Burlington saw a significant increase?

Good catch. Added 2012's CMA Apts/Other to YTD Starts, hence the distortion. Fixed.

Hamilton CMA
Low-Density: 584 (838)
% Change: -30.3
Med/High-Density: 1,026 (921)
% Change: 11.4

Hamilton
Low-Density: 535 (755)
% Change: -29.1
Med/High-Density: 402 (423)
% Change: -5.0

Former City of Hamilton (Wards 1-8)
Low-Density: 119 (127)
% Change: -6.3
Med/High-Density: 112 (130)
% Change: -13.9

Stoney Creek
Low-Density: 66 (94)
% Change: -29.8
Med/High-Density: 61 (120)
% Change: -49.2

Ancaster
Low-Density: 107 (131)
% Change: -18.3
Med/High-Density: 32 (51)
% Change: -37.3

Dundas
Low-Density: 3 (3)
% Change: 0.0
Med/High-Density: 0 (0)
% Change: 0.0

Flamborough
Low-Density: 104 (241)
% Change: -56.8
Med/High-Density: 81 (38)
% Change: 113.2

Glanbrook
Low-Density: 136 (159)
% Change: -14.5
Med/High-Density: 116 (84)
% Change: 38.1

Burlington
Low-Density: 31 (61)
% Change: -49.2
Med/High-Density: 612 (428)
% Change: 43.0

Grimsby
Low-Density: 18 (22)
% Change: -18.2
Med/High-Density: 12 (70)
% Change: -82.9

[Beedok]

Ah, glad to help. Also wish Hamilton followed the density of Burlington's building patter.

[thistleclub]

Starts figures in CMHC’s Housing Now (Aug 2013) reflect similar trends.

Starts by Submarket and by Dwelling Type, Jan-July 2013 (Jan-July 2012)

Hamilton CMA
Single: 693 (910)
Semi: 32 (52)
Row: 452 (612)
Apt & Other: 607 (404)
Total YTD: 1,784 (1,978)
% Change: -9.8

Hamilton
Single: 623 (815)
Semi: 32 (52)
Row: 310 (452)
Apt & Other: 105 (66)
Total YTD: 1,070 (1,385)
% Change: -22.7

Former City of Hamilton (Wards 1-8)
Single: 137 (157)
Semi: 2 (4)
Row: 17 (72)
Apt & Other: 99 (66)
Total YTD: 255 (299)
% Change: -14.7

Stoney Creek
Single: 85 (109)
Semi: 10 (0)
Row: 61 (193)
Apt & Other: 0 (0)
Total YTD: 156 (302)
% Change: -48.3

Ancaster
Single: 131 (161)
Semi: 0 (0)
Row: 32 (51)
Apt & Other: 6 (0)
Total YTD: 169 (212)
% Change: -20.3

Dundas
Single: 3 (4)
Semi: 0 (0)
Row: 0 (0)
Apt & Other: 0 (0)
Total YTD: 3 (4)
% Change: -25.0

Flamborough
Single: 91 (212)
Semi: 20 (32)
Row: 84 (38)
Apt & Other: 0 (0)
Total YTD: 195 (282)
% Change: -30.9

Glanbrook
Single: 176 (172)
Semi: 0 (16)
Row: 116 (98)
Apt & Other: 0 (0)
Total YTD: 292 (286)
% Change: 2.1

Burlington
Single: 46 (71)
Semi: 0 (0)
Row: 130 (90)
Apt & Other: 502 (338)
Total YTD: 678 (499)
% Change: 35.9

Grimsby
Single: 24 (24)
Semi: 0 (0)
Row: 12 (70)
Apt & Other: 0 (0)
Total YTD: 36 (94)
% Change: -61.7


Looking at those starts numbers through a density lens:

Hamilton CMA
Low-Density: 725 (962)
% Change: -24.6
Med/High-Density: 1,059 (1,016)
% Change: 4.2

Hamilton
Low-Density: 655 (867)
% Change: -24.5
Med/High-Density: 415 (518)
% Change: -19.9

Former City of Hamilton (Wards 1-8)
Low-Density: 139 (161)
% Change: -13.7
Med/High-Density: 116 (138)
% Change: -15.9

Stoney Creek
Low-Density: 95 (109)
% Change: -12.8
Med/High-Density: 61 (193)
% Change: -68.4

Ancaster
Low-Density: 131 (161)
% Change: -18.6
Med/High-Density: 38 (51)
% Change: -25.5

Dundas
Low-Density: 3 (4)
% Change: -25.0
Med/High-Density: 0 (0)
% Change: 0.0

Flamborough
Low-Density: 111 (244)
% Change: -54.4
Med/High-Density: 84 (38)
% Change: 121.1

Glanbrook
Low-Density: 176 (188)
% Change: -6.4
Med/High-Density: 116 (98)
% Change: 18.4

Burlington
Low-Density: 46 (71)
% Change: -35.2
Med/High-Density: 632 (428)
% Change: 47.7

Grimsby
Low-Density: 24 (24)
% Change: 0.0
Med/High-Density: 12 (70)
% Change: -82.9


Tallying all of the amalgamated suburbs into a single entry provides yet another snapshot of the Hamilton CMA:

Urban Hamilton (Wards 1-8)
Low-Density: 139 (161)
% Change: -13.7
Med/High-Density: 116 (138)
% Change: -15.9

Suburban Hamilton (Wards 9-15)
Low-Density: 516 (706)
% Change: -26.9
Med/High-Density: 299 (380)
% Change: -21.3

Burlington
Low-Density: 46 (71)
% Change: -35.2
Med/High-Density: 632 (428)
% Change: 47.7

Grimsby
Low-Density: 24 (24)
% Change: 0.0
Med/High-Density: 12 (70)
% Change: -82.9

[SteelTown]

First of CBC Hamilton's four-part series on the city's housing market

Sold! How a hot real estate market is changing Hamilton

For seven years, 446 Dundurn St. S. didn't get much love.

It's a large brick house built in the early 1960s, a former duplex in the Kirkendall neighbourhood. It went on the market a couple of times in the past decade, sometimes for as low as $105,000. And still, no one bit.

Last year, developer Greg Hart bought it for around $200,000. Today, the house that sat vacant for seven years is expected to go for about $600,000.

Such is the strength of Hamilton's booming real estate market. Ten years ago, houses in this quiet neighbourhood near trendy Locke Street sold for an average of $186,267. Today, the average sale price has nearly tripled to $317,089.

Hart probably wouldn't even have bought the Dundurn place 10 years ago, he said, let alone put five months of renovation work into flipping it. But times have changed.

“Locke and Dundurn are very desirable areas. People have always wanted to live here,” said Hart, who owns Skyline Construction. “But in the last few years, it's just been crazy.”

....

Hot neighbourhoods

In certain areas, such as Kirkendall, the growth has been marked.

Proximity to Highway 403, McMaster University and the Locke Street area help, said Ian Davies, a local sales representative with Keller Williams. Nearby Strathcona, with its historically low prices and closeness to major arteries, is also popular with commuters. There, housing prices have increased by 87 per cent in the last 10 years.

Realtors also cite Durand as a hot spot, where housing prices have increased about 70 per cent. Close to downtown and filled with tidy, tree-lined streets, Durand has attractive historic homes. And at least one major condo project is underway.

Stoney Creek Mountain is booming, benefiting from the increased access of the Red Hill Valley Parkway.

In Binbrook, where new subdivisions sprawl over former green space, prices have increased 85 per cent in the last 10 years.

[mattgrande]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Ten years ago, houses in this quiet neighbourhood near trendy Locke Street sold for an average of $186,267. Today, the average sale price has nearly tripled to $317,089.

The price hasn't even doubled... What's this "nearly tripled" they're talking about?

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by mattgrande

The price hasn't even doubled... What's this "nearly tripled" they're talking about?

The lack of math skills in teachers who teach math has recently been publicized. This is just one outcome!

[SteelTown]

Sold! Housing boom brings radical changes to a new Waterdown

It's 3 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, and the Waterdown where Judi Partridge sits is not the Waterdown of 10 years ago.

Cars line up and snarl traffic at stoplights nearby. A few kilometres away, noisy equipment digs into the dusty ground, working on eight developments that are expected to double the town's population of 18,000 in the next five years.

But Partridge, a councillor for Ward 15 in Flamborough, is optimistic.

“Come to Waterdown!” she says. “It's a great place to live and it's going to get better.”

For the past eight years, people have heeded this. Lured by cheaper housing prices and proximity to the QEWand GO service, commuters from the Greater Toronto Area are moving to Waterdown in droves, snatching up palatial single-family homes with prices that creep ever upward. Housing prices in Hamilton in general went up 56 per cent from 2011 to 2012, and continue to increase and buck national trends.

In 2012, the average house price in Waterdown was nearly $400,000, up from $288,060 in 2005. They're also selling faster — it took 33 days, on average to sell a house in 2012, more than a week faster than 2005.

....

The next Milton?

Sherrie Lauza, Araya's neighbour, moved from urban Hamilton to live in a small town. She worries that Waterdown will go the way of Milton — a small town that grows rapidly with new development.

"I'm a little nervous," said Lauza, who moved to Waterdown a year ago. "It may not be long before I move out of Waterdown and try to find another quiet town."

[SteelTown]

Sold! Renters at risk in Hamilton's hot housing market

....

Hamilton's housing prices are hot — trending ever upward, outpacing the country in a number of recent reports. Some neighbourhoods have seen an increase of 100 per cent in housing prices in the past 10 years. But that hot market for buyers and sellers has another side: It's impacting the rental market in unique and worrying ways.

....

Local reports seem to back up Hawker's fears. A 2012 rental market report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows that the vacancy rate in Hamilton and Burlington's apartment buildings was 3.5 per cent that year.

....

The trouble with apartments

Unlike condos, where the money from the pre-sale of units can be used as collateral to fund the project, apartment developments need to find other ways to provide the cash to build the project, he said.

“The financing (for rental properties) is very, very hard to secure,” he said. “You need to put aside a tonne of money for a long time and it's not the same yield you get as building condos.”

Larry Huibers, executive director of the Housing Help Centre of Hamilton, worries that as property values increase in the city, the cost of rental units will too.

“It's making existing stock more valuable, so it can bear a higher cost, so rents are continuing to go up, at least to the maximum allowable,” Huibers said.

Local housing experts all have various ideas on how to ease the coming crunch. Pathak worries about the city's plan to implement a bylaw requiring rental units pay an annual licensing fee and meet a new set of standards, which he says could coax more landlords to convert their homes back to single-family residences. The city's planning committee will deal with the issue again on Sept. 17.

....

[thistleclub]

Toronto joins the rest of the country as housing market heats up
(Globe & Mail, Tara Perkins, Sept 5 2013)

Sales of existing homes in Canada are rebounding, with a number of major cities posting double-digit increases in the number of homes that changed hands in August compared to a year ago.

The Toronto area saw a 21-per-cent rise in sales over the Multiple Listing Service last month. Vancouver’s local real estate board reported a 52.5 per cent year-over-year jump in sales, and Calgary posted a 27.5-per-cent increase. Bank of Montreal economist Sal Guatieri notes that Victoria’s home sales came in 20.7 per cent higher than a year earlier, and Edmonton’s 9.9 per cent.

The numbers suggest that the housing market is strengthening in the wake of a protracted slump.

All told, “Canadian existing home sales could climb around 10 per cent year-over-year with average prices rising about 7 per cent year-over-year (pulled up by the sharp sales rebound in pricey Vancouver),” Mr. Guatieri wrote in a research note.

“After last year’s plunge in response to tighter mortgage rules, home sales have stabilized near normal levels and prices are rising moderately in most regions – a near perfect soft landing with shades of taking flight again,” he wrote.

[HillStreetBlues]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

The city's planning committee will deal with the issue again on Sept. 17.

....

That's funny. It would be a lot more accurate to say that the planning committee will again not deal with the issue on Sept. 17.

I don’t agree that the housing bubble that has been developing the last decade is the reason for renters’ woes. The problem goes back way further- rent controls and extremely tenant-favourable legislation in Ontario meant that rental housing construction almost ceased starting as far back as the 80s (the reason that the province repealed rent control in 1991 for new rental units). A hot market doesn’t help the economics of building rental stock versus condominiums, but it’s not the whole story.

That’s exactly right about rental licensing, though. Thousands of property owners will have to choose to either flout the law, or convert their buildings into single-family, and sell. Every neighbourhood in the lower city has a huge number of improperly-zoned multiplexes- when they come on to the market as single family homes, that will be another downward pressure on prices. And, of course, it will mean a big increase in rents.

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by HillStreetBlues

...
That’s exactly right about rental licensing, though. Thousands of property owners will have to choose to either flout the law, or convert their buildings into single-family, and sell. Every neighbourhood in the lower city has a huge number of improperly-zoned multiplexes- when they come on to the market as single family homes, that will be another downward pressure on prices. And, of course, it will mean a big increase in rents.

Interesting point, HillStreetBlues. When we were looking for a home in Hamilton, on the market there were a large number of single-family homes that had been converted to multi-plexes. We knew what the costs would be to convert back to a single-family home, and passed on all of them.

The sheer volume of these (illegal?) conversions was daunting, and it took us weeks to find a home in the downtown area that we wanted to live in.

[drpgq]

The other factor why no one builds big apartment complexes in Hamilton is that the property tax right on those apartments has been way higher than for single family housing. Which doesn't make a lot of sense, except that home owners vote more than renters.

[Beedok]

Is this appropriate to post here?
The main thing I noticed wasn't really housing related though but commuter related:
Who works in Hamilton? Top 5 places where Hamilton workers live:
Hamilton: 139,470 (78.44 per cent)
Burlington: 7,755 (4.36)
Haldimand: 5,070 (2.85)
Grimsby: 3,160 (1.78)
Brantford: 2,960 (1.66)

I was surprised to see Brantford so close to Grimsby for total numbers. I realise percentage wise it's pretty tiny for Brantford, but hopefully that will grow.

[matt602]

If I remember correctly, the stats for where Hamiltonians work is basically the same figures. According to the mayor though, theres some kind of insane number of Hamiltonians who work in Toronto...

[Beedok]

Both stats were in the article.

[matt602]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Both stats were in the article.

Fair enough, I should have actually read it. Even still the top 2 spots are the same and Toronto only clocks in at 3%.

[thistleclub]

Rental apartment construction set to boom
(Globe & Mail, Tara Perkins, Sept 8 2013)

Some of Canada’s biggest real estate owners, from pension funds to REITs to insurers, are showing more interest in developing new apartment buildings in major cities than they have in decades, a phenomenon that could change the way renters live.

The emerging trend comes in the face of what industry players characterize as a near-perfect storm: The cost of buying older apartment buildings has jumped; financing for new construction is relatively inexpensive due to low interest rates; rental demand and rents are rising; fears of provincial rent control regimes are subsiding; condo markets are weakening; and institutional real estate owners are looking for places to park their money.

“For the first time in generations it’s starting to make sense to build rental apartment buildings in big cities,” said Macquarie Securities analyst Michael Smith. “I think we’re in the early stages of a new era. If condo prices correct some more and mortgage rules get tougher, I see purpose-built rentals in big cities starting to fill the void.”

Added to that are four rounds of tighter government mortgage insurance rules, while the country’s banking regulator is considering tightening mortgage lending rules for banks.

“Every time Ottawa changes the mortgage rules and makes it tougher to buy a house or a condo, that’s going to push people into the rental market,” Mr. Smith said.

In the past 20 to 25 years there has been a lack of new apartments, said Philip Fraser, the chief executive of Halifax-based Killam Properties Inc., a publicly traded company with apartments in five provinces.

There has been some apartment construction in recent decades in smaller markets, but the major cities have, by and large, seen a dearth of new supply. In its place, condos owned by investors who obtain tenants have become the de facto new rental supply.

“We’ve all basically been buying existing product,” said Mr. Fraser. “It’s just come to the tipping point where the lack of supply, increasing values, and increasing rents have us looking at ourselves and saying we are prepared to be a developer, and to build our own product.”

[thistleclub]

Hamilton real estate 'a seller's market,' RAHB president says
(CBC Hamilton, Staff, Sept 9 2013)

Hamilton's housing market continues to face a shortage of listings even though the number of new listings has steadily increased over the summer months, according to the latest report from the local real estate association.

New listings increased by 8 per cent in August compared to the same time a year ago, according to a monthly report by the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB). But the association's president says there is still a gap between supply and demand.

"We are into a seller's market right now,” RAHB president Bruce Moran told CBC News. “The shortage of listings makes it tougher for the buyer.”

The report also shows that sales increased by more than 10 per cent in August compared to July and by 8.8 per cent compared to August 2012. Meanwhile, the average property sale price saw a 5-per-cent leap from last August to $383,561, but it's slightly down from the previous three months. The average days on market remained constant at 45 days for both condominiums and freehold properties.

[thistleclub]

The City has posted Rental Housing Licensing By-law PED10049(m), a report for the Planning Committee. Staff is recommending an annual license fee of $100 per rental dwelling unit, possibly alongside a $108 Zoning Verification Fee (if required), effective April 1, 2017.

Details on delegations:

Please note that this is not a public hearing item. If you wish to speak to this item, please fill out a delegation form by September 16, 2013 at noon. If you require further information about delegations, please contact Vanessa.Robichaud@hamilton.ca

Date/Time: Tuesday, September 17, 2013. The Rental Housing Licensing report is one of a number of items to be discussed at the Planning Committee meeting, which begins at 9:30am

Location: Council Chambers, 2nd floor of City Hall, 71 Main Street West

[thistleclub]

From RAHB’s August 2013 Market Report:

The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1203 properties sold through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in August. This represents an 8.8 per cent increase in the number of sales over August of last year. The average sale price of $383,561 was an increase of five per cent over the previous August. There were 1,640 properties listed in August, an increase of eight per cent over August of last year. End-of-month listing inventory is 2.6 per cent lower than last year. Seasonally adjusted sales of residential properties were 8.8 per cent higher than the same month last year, with the average sale price up three per cent for the month. Seasonally adjusted numbers of new listings were 8.8 per cent higher than the same month last year… Year to date, listings are down less than one per cent compared to the same period last year, while sales are 1.2 per cent lower. The average sale price for the first half of the year is 7.7 per cent higher than the same period last year.

Average Sale Price, Aug 2013

Burlington $488,823
Flamborough $479,875
Ancaster $460,081
Waterdown $454,752
Dundas $430,970
Glanbrook $359,962
Grimsby $352,276
Stoney Creek $336,056
Hamilton West $315,305
Caledonia $284,968
Hamilton Mountain $278,803
Hamilton East $235,177
Dunnville $184,200
Hamilton Centre $181,848

Average Sale Price Increase ($), Aug 2013 vs Aug 2012

Flamborough $69,886
Dundas $61,782
Hamilton West $50,524
Grimsby $33,877
Hamilton East $33,834
Glanbrook $28,237
Burlington $24,421
Caledonia $21,495
Stoney Creek $20,638
Hamilton Mountain $18,201
Hamilton Centre $15,822
Waterdown $13,281
Dunnville $950
Ancaster -$4,476

Average Sale Price Increase (%), Aug 2013 vs Aug 2012

Hamilton West 19.08%
Flamborough 17.04%
Hamilton East 16.80%
Dundas 16.73%
Grimsby 10.64%
Hamilton Centre 9.53%
Glanbrook 8.52%
Caledonia 8.16%
Hamilton Mountain 7.00%
Stoney Creek 6.54%
Burlington 5.26%
Waterdown 3.01%
Dunnville 0.52%
Ancaster -0.96%