January brought price gains after 10 months of decline
Hamilton, ON (February 2, 2023) – Current inventory levels throughout the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) market area are comparable to what we saw pre-pandemic. This is likely due to higher interest rates and a rise in new listings hitting the market. Inventory has increased across all price points, particularly the lower price ranges. The new year has shown an increase in sales of homes priced under $800,000 and supply options in that price range are better compared to last January. However, total home sales are down 26 per cent year over year.
“Low lending rates and the pandemic contributed to a surge in demand. Supply could not keep pace, and prices rose faster than expected. Higher lending rates and prices have impacted affordability and allowed the market to build supply levels back up to pre-pandemic levels,” says Lou Piriano, President of the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB).
Currently, we have a little less than a three-month supply of market inventory. While conditions are not as tight as they have been the past several years, we are also not dealing with the oversupply scenario we faced during the financial crisis. This will likely limit how much prices adjust from recent highs.
Across the RAHB market area, home prices are 20 per cent lower than they were at the start of 2022. However, after ten months of consecutive declines, benchmark prices increased over December. The unadjusted benchmark price was $809,800, below the $1,012,700 reported in January 2022, but well above the $602,700 reported at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. This could potentially reflect a stabilization in prices.
