House sales continue to drop as prices start to stabilize

It was the worst February for house sales in the coverage area of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) since at least 2014. There were only 765 sales across the (RAHB) market area, 37 per cent less than the same time the previous year. Much of the decline was felt in the higher end of the market as homes priced below $800,000 represented the majority of sales. In terms of housing mix, there were only 473 detached houses sold, 158 townhouses, 93 apartments and 40 semi-detached units sold. There were a couple of positive signs. The re are just over two months of housing supply on the market – off the high of more than three months in December, and house proves recovered slightly to an average of $846,000 across the four market zones. The average price for a house in Hamilton is $779,000 and in Burlington it is $998,000.

RAHB reports an increased hesitancy to list impacted the detached sector hardest. New listings fell to 1,203 in February, 27 per cent below the same time last year, and new listings relative to sales prevented significant inventory gains. While inventory levels are much higher than reported last year, they are still below levels reported for this time of year before the pandemic.