Strong September in Hamilton Market

Strong September

by Darrin DeRoches October 10 - 16, 2013

Sales are up for the month of September and came close to setting a ten year record. The best news is the average sale is a whopping $392,013 and this is a 6.7 increase from the same time last year. The total sales of homes were 1207 for the month. Luckily, listings increased since they have been scarce in the last while so the market is still a little shy on listings but homes sure are selling. If you read all the stats there are adjustments for seasons etc. But, the big news is homes average time on the market is down by eight days and the year to date increase is 7.7 per cent higher than last year.     This means your home just made you a 7.7 per cent return on your investment and all you did is live in it. Hamilton is continuing to be a front runner in the real estate market and outside interest is strong. The best part of all these stats is not just the increase but that they are real increases. Hamilton is not flooding the market with thousands of condos that are bought up for the purpose of flipping which inflates the market which does not give a true reading when looking at the market. Our numbers are showing actual houses selling for top dollar. The future looks good and the market is staying strong. So when should you jump into the market? Yesterday.     The interest rates are supposed to stay low until at least 2015 but most likely longer. If you look at mortgage rates the lowest are the two year rates since the banks know this is the time it will rise. They want you to be re–mortgaging at this time to pay a higher rate. The savvy investor can play the two year rate and hope it has not jumped up too high by the time it comes to negotiate a new mortgage. All these indicators are showing a strong market with continuing great rates. This is why you should make the move soon. Of course you can look back ten years and say what if I bought then my property would be worth so much now. Instead, you should look ahead ten years and figure out how much a property should be worth then.     The Hamilton market has been steadily increasing for over the last 15 years and it will continue to grow. We are in a resurgence that will most likely weather any storm the market will bring us. Larger cities with inflated prices and unaffordable mortgages will feel the hit, but we should be able to stay on course to “catch up” with the surrounding market. Be smart, buy the right property at the right price and you will see a great return in this city. Put a little bit of work into a property and you can cash out even higher in today’s market. More on that next week. Happy Thanksgiving! 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 sold@uniquerealty.ca.