Re-Discover Hamilton in 2013

by Darrin DeRoches December 20 - 26, 2012

I keep hearing all about the “Big Move” from all of these Toronto transplants and I have even wrote about it myself but reading articles from Toronto writers kind of makes me feel strange. In the last month, I’ve read a blog article and an article in the Toronto Star all about our city and the movement of artists, bands, etc. The articles all had a positive spin on our city and the burgeoning artist scene, the affordable rents yada, yada, yada. It all sounds good on paper and any news is good news but my skin crawls because the articles are being written by Toronto writers who all claim to have a friend who lives in Hamilton. They are writing about our city with their Toronto mindset and if anyone knows anything about a true Hamiltonian it is “Argos suck” or in other words “the best thing about Hamilton — it is not Toronto”.     I love that people are moving to our city and the city is growing! I am the first to welcome all development – even a casino. I just do not want the new transplants to think that they are doing us a favor by moving here, it is actually the reverse, you are lucky to be living in Hamilton. I am sure after reading my last line all Hamiltonians are saying “yeah right – lucky to be living in Hamilton”. This is my point of this article. We, as Hamiltonians, do not give ourselves enough credit. I can go on and list all that we have to offer and the leaps and bounds our city is going to move in the next decade but what is most important is to give ourselves credit.     The average sale price for Hamilton property jumped $45,000 since last September. Hamilton housing market bucks Canadian cooling trend. Hamilton home price was up 8.5% in November. Hamilton is the number one place to invest in Canada. These headlines are a glaring example how our city is on the move. We are still the only city in the GTA that is affordable. We are the only “real” city where you can enjoy all the big city attributes but still have a small city feel.     The year is coming to an end and all of the inquiries I am receiving on real estate, whether it is commercial, residential, lease or sale and even renting apartments are all from Toronto. They are looking for space to give it a go in our city. The overall consensus is that we are affordable and close enough for them to still visit friends and families. The most interesting inquiries are from people who lived in Hamilton and are now looking to re–invest in the city. Their attitude is the worst since they remember the stagnate city from ten years ago and all I tell them is to come back and take a look before slamming something they know nothing about. A lot has changed in the last couple of years and the future looks good for the city. “Re–Discover Hamilton” should be our new slogan for 2013! Happy Holidays Hamilton! V     Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. He can be reached to answer questions, comments or stories about real estate experiences through this weekly column at mail@uniquerealty.ca