Your Definitive Guide to the Hamilton & Burlington Housing Market in 2023.

Market Report Summary for June 2023

• The average home sale price in Hamilton-Burlington decreased by 22.9% year-over-year to $845,892 for June 2023. While in comparison, provincially, the average home sale price is down 18.2% from a year ago to $1,081,500.
• The average price of a single-family home in Hamilton-Burlington decreased by 24.3% year-over-year to $941,885 for June 2023. While in comparison, provincially, the average single-family home sale price is down 18.8% from a year ago to $1,189,100.
• The average price of a row/townhouse in Hamilton-Burlington decreased by 18.0% year-over-year to $773,456 for June 2023. While in comparison, provincially, the average town/rowhouse sale price is down 17.4% from a year ago to $847,500.
• The average condo price in Hamilton-Burlington decreased by 12.5% year-over-year to $591,895 for June 2023. While in comparison, provincially, the average condo sale price is down 14% from a year ago to $734,500.
• The average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Hamilton-Burlington increased by 24% year-over-year to $1,799 for June 2023. While in comparison, provincially, 1-bedroom apartment rents are averaging $2,180, up 16.9% from a year ago.

Hamilton Housing Market Outlook

As of June 2023, data from the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) indicates that the average home price in Hamilton-Burlington is $845,892. Over the last month, there have been 1,203 new listings, and the median number of days a home is on the market is 31 days. 

Hamilton-Burlington house prices decreased by 22.9% compared to a year ago. However, housing prices have slowed down in the last three months.  As prices reduce incrementally compared to this past summer, we see more balance returning to the market, albeit slowly.

Additionally, Hamilton-Burlington’s sales-to-new listings ratio (SNLR) stands at 64% as of June 2023, showing power is still in the buyer’s hands as the market edges on the balanced territory. 

(For context, a market is considered a seller’s market when the SNLR is 70% or less since a higher proportion of sales than listings indicates higher demand relative to supply.)

Who’s Buying Hamilton Real Estate?

Until recently, the primary demographics driving demand in Hamilton’s residential property market were those looking to upsize their homes, foreign investors looking to purchase an investment property in one of Canada’s most lucrative markets, professionals who recently immigrated to Canada in the past 5 years, and out-of-province migrants advancing their careers in the nation’s economic engine. 

With the passing of the omnibus Bill C-32 legislation, including the foreign buyers’ ban and anti-flipping tax, the Hamilton homebuyers’ demographic may be shifting away from foreign investment. However, it remains to be seen whether efforts to limit foreign buyers in Hamilton will have an impact; according to Statistics Canada, foreign investors make up less than 5% of the total homeownership in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area.

Multi-property Investors

According to a report by Teranet, investors and multi-property owners accounted for over 25% of Ontario’s homebuyers in 2021, particularly centred around the Toronto region. Consequently, the largest segment of the real estate market in Toronto region is now multi-property owners, ahead of first-time buyers, which was the market’s largest segment until 2016.

Upsizing Buyers

Upsizing by buyers has driven Hamilton-Burlington’s demand for detached homes, Detached home prices saw the largest year-over-year adjustment at nearly 24%. Despite the year-over-year decline, the recent shifts in price trends should help support a more stable price environment this year Upsizing buyers also continued to explore secondary markets like Brantford, Kitchener, Guelph and St.Catherines over the last 6 months.

Immigration & Out-of-province Migration

While the pandemic saw thousands of homebuyers leaving urban areas searching for more space and affordable housing, new immigrants are making Hamilton homes a continued surge.  Although many Hamiltonians continue to leave Hamilton due to housing affordability limitations, many continue to move here. According to this report by Re/Max, the federal government expects to bring an additional 2 million new immigrants to Canada – many of whom will still choose to settle in one of Canada’s largest cities, including Hamilton.

First-Time Homebuyers

Getting a mortgage in Hamilton as a first-time buyer can be challenging for many as it is one of the most appreciated markets in Canada.

While programs like the First Time Home Buyer Incentive are in place to help people afford homes in the city, this has yet to do much to offset affordability as the stress test makes it harder to qualify. At the same time, the Bank of Canada keeps rates elevated – adding a barrier to qualifying for a home without a combined household income over $150,000. 

Given the slowdown over the last 12 months in home prices, Hamilton remains a difficult market to purchase a first home without outside financial assistance. Unsurprisingly, first-time homebuyers are no longer the largest segment of the city’s real estate market. 

Average Home Prices in Hamilton for June 2023

With the Bank of Canada finally pausing its rate-tightening cycle, now may be the perfect time to buy a home in Hamilton before the storm. Many experts say the housing market should pick up by the end of 2023, when rates are expected to decline. Timing the market in Hamilton is precariously hard as the pent-up demand sitting on the sidelines is ready to pounce at the perfect combination of lower prices and rates.

Average home prices in the city have dropped significantly compared to last year, with a 22.9% decrease in the average price of a single-family home compared to a year ago. The average price of a detached home in Hamilton was at its highest at $1,170,763 a year ago. Contrast this to the current price this year at $941,885, and it becomes apparent that Hamilton’s market is undervalued. 

Below we have compiled some insights from the Hamilton’s real estate experts at Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB).

Hamilton House Prices & Sales

Hamilton Condo Prices & Sales

Hamilton Historical Housing Price Changes by Property Type

Breakdown by District

More generally, Hamilton and Ontario real estate has seen some of the most widespread and persistent levels of price appreciation in the last 20 years. Driven by property investment, upsize buyers, immigration and provincial migration, here breakdown within the Hamilton-Burlington municipalities as of June 2023.

In the regional summary, we’ll review some interesting statistics related to the Hamilton real estate market. RAHB reported that sales did ease across all regions in June 2023. Their declining level depended on the region, with the Hamilton East seeing the greatest decline. 

Hamilton Mountain was the area with the greatest number of residential property sales. This area had a total of 114 sales reported in June 2023, this was a decline of 27% When it came to the average price of a residential property, this area reported it to be $732,258, this was a decrease of 26.4% compared to the previous year. There were 135 new listings in this area, a 40% decrease compared to last year. 

The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB), reported that Stoney Creek had the second-greatest residential property sales. There were a total of 80 sales reported in June 2023. This decreased by 34.3 % compared to the same period last year. This area’s average residential property price was reported to have been $812,627, a 27% decrease compared to the previous year. Stoney Creek also reported a total of 148 new listings, this was a decrease of 22.1 % compared to the same period last year. 

Breakdown by Property Type

More generally, Hamilton and Ontario real estate has seen some of the most widespread and persistent levels of price appreciation in the last 20 years. Driven by property investment, upsizing buyers, immigration and provincial migration, here is the breakdown within the Hamilton-Burlington municipalities as of June 2023.

RAHB reported that when it came to detached properties, there were a total of 308 sales, a decline of 39.5%. This type of property had 474 new listings in June, a 33.7% decrease compared to the previous year. The average price of this type of property was $895,388, a decrease of 22.8% compared to the same period last year. 

Semi-detached properties saw a decline in supply in June 2023 and had an average property price of $761,011, a 14% decrease. There were 23 sales, a decrease of 39.5%when compared to the previous year. This type of property had a total of 30 new listings reported in June 2023, this was a decrease of 31.8%. 

Regarding row/townhouse properties within the Hamilton real estate market area, there were 93 sales, a decrease of 31.3%. There were 131 new listings reported in June 2023, a decrease of 32.1%compared to the previous year. For this type of property, the average price was reported to have been $710,971, a decrease of 21.6%.

Finally, the condo (apartment) property type had a total of 40 sales in June 2023, a decrease of 56.5% compared to the previous year. There were 98 new listings, which was a decrease of 3.9%. The average price of this type of property was $455,698, a decrease of 26.5% compared to the same time last year. 

Hamilton Rental Breakdown June 2023

Average rental cost comparisons between Hamilton and other municipalities in Ontario or nationally.  

Each $100K in mortgage balance costs an average of $550 per month for principal and interest on the current insured fixed rate and $620 per month on the current insured variable rate.  Rates used for calculation are those offered on insured purchases with less than a 20% downpayment over 25 years of amortization.  Each 0.25% change in mortgage rates impacts the monthly payment by $14 to $16 on a 25-year amortization.

Hamilton Rental Prices Compared to Other Canadian Cities

As the table below shows, Hamilton is the 8th most expensive city for rentals in Ontario and 14th nationally.

Province	Total	Bachelor	1Bdr Average	2Bdr Average	3Bdr Average	Total YoY Change
Vancouver BC	$3,146	$2,276	$2,765	$3,727	$4,200	18.70%
Burnaby BC	$2,866	$1,747	$2,286	$3,171	$3,638	19.90%
Toronto ON	$2,818	$1,987	$2,516	$3,301	$3,890	22.40%
Etobicoke ON	$2,587	$1,967	$2,285	$2,848	$2,888	21.40%
Mississauga ON	$2,549	$1,876	$2,253	$2,688	$3,047	21.50%
Brampton ON	$2,518	$1,709	$2,143	$2,624	$2,909	29.10%
North York ON	$2,497	$1,657	$2,174	$2,706	$3,376	24.10%
Kelowna BC	$2,402	$1,530	$1,932	$2,728	N/A	3.60%
Barrie ON	$2,363	$1,575	$2,019	$2,583	$2,626	12.30%
Surrey BC	$2,342	$1,938	$1,951	$2,497	$2,627	17.90%
Halifax NS	$2,215	$1,732	$2,089	$2,425	$2,890	20.10%
Victoria BC	$2,214	N/A	$2,004	$2,513	$3,325	7.30%
Kitchener ON	$2,195	$2,324	$1,944	$2,405	N/A	21.00%
Hamilton ON	$2,106	$1,640	$1,890	$2,308	$2,369	21.40%
Ottawa ON	$2,090	$1,625	$1,925	$2,363	$2,485	15.40%
Oshawa ON	$1,979	$1,348	$1,825	$2,123	$2,185	9.30%
London ON	$1,978	$1,394	$1,775	$2,123	$2,559	24.60%
Kingston ON	$1,921	$1,633	$1,700	$2,136	$2,278	13.20%
Calgary AB	$1,890	$1,276	$1,686	$2,048	$2,393	24.90%
Montreal QC	$1,876	$1,365	$1,619	$2,155	$2,455	10.90%
Winnipeg MB	$1,478	$1,066	$1,320	$1,615	$2,055	13.60%
Lethbridge AB	$1,314	$1,056	$1,212	$1,387	$1,600	17.80%
Edmonton AB	$1,300	$940	$1,147	$1,475	$1,574	11.20%
Saskatoon SK	$1,176	$877	$1,122	$1,234	$1,438	9.30%
Regina SK	$1,139	$849	$1,072	$1,290	N/A	13.90%

Ontario Rental Prices Compared to Canada and the Provinces

As the data below shows, Ontario is the least affordable province for rentals after BC among the provinces, with a population of over 1 million inhabitants.  

Average Rents by Housing Type

Province	Total	Bachelor	1Bdr Average	2Bdr Average	3Bdr Average
AB	$1,461	$981	$1,307	$1,628	$1,668
BC	$2,441	$1,904	$2,168	$2,857	$3,342
MB	$1,463	$1,066	$1,310	$1,588	$1,814
NS	$2,167	$1,723	$2,029	$2,368	$2,586
ON	$2,401	$1,802	$2,180	$2,649	$2,954
QC	$1,839	$1,329	$1,589	$2,035	$2,340
SK	$1,097	$856	$1,034	$1,173	$1,351
CA	$1,937	$1,395	$1,749	$2,127	$2,402

Rental Growth by Housing Type

Province	Total YoY Change	Bachelor YoY Change	1Bdr YoY Change	2Bdr YoY Change	3Bdr YoY Change
AB	13.40%	0.60%	13.00%	14.80%	7.30%
BC	13.20%	8.40%	11.00%	13.00%	6.40%
MB	12.60%	13.80%	14.60%	12.50%	5.60%
NS	20.80%	14.10%	22.70%	21.00%	33.60%
ON	17.10%	19.00%	16.90%	15.80%	13.60%
QC	22.20%	2.80%	9.80%	9.90%	6.00%
SK	8.00%	13.30%	8.70%	7.70%	7.00%
CA	10.90%	4.90%	10.10%	10.70%	6.80%

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Hamilton’s property market is set to remain strong as increases are expected for the remainder of 2023. The average home price in Hamilton has dropped significantly over the last year. However, this comes after months of record consecutive price rises during the pandemic and one of the most intense periods of price appreciation the city has ever seen. 

While the property market appears to be shedding value in Hamilton, it’s important to remember that this is relative to a long period of superheating in the area. 

If you are looking for a home in 2023, expect an imminent turnaround in the housing market over the next few months. Contact our knowledgeable and commission-free mortgage experts at nesto to help guide you through the home-buying process.

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