The results are in for the real estate market for 2012 and the average price is up over 7 per cent but the total number of units sold was down slightly from the previous year. I could spew out all of the numbers of units and averages but it all boils down to: your property is worth more. If we look back to all the predictions, they stated that the market would increase slightly by 2 to 3 per cent and in fact it rose over 7 per cent. We can now sift through all of the experts who say that this year will maintain but with only a slight increase, which is saying that I was wrong last year. So maybe if I understate the obvious I may be right.
The real answer is no one really knows what is going to happen. There are big indicators that help experts guess that the market will go up or down but these indicators are not fool proof. I take my information from the market itself. Drive downtown and see all the boarded up building sites. That statement used to mean a condemned, derelict building boarded up with no activity but pigeons and crack heads. One building site that hasboards on it is the new McMaster site with the boards boasting all of the activity that the building will generate once it’s built. Across the street at Main and Bay a hotel and condo building is rising out of the ground. The old Grapes N Things and Waltz are being built into new restaurants. The old Don Cherry’s has construction crews tearing it apart. A new BBQ joint near Ferguson, plus a café around the corner and new restaurant – the George Hamilton is almost finished on King and Bay. The new Hess and King apartments are coming along nicely. The condos at Aberdeen and Dundurn have owners already moved in. The Witton lofts are moving along and the boarded up site beside Acclamation on James is almost ready to go.
The city is finally leasing out the bottom floors of the Lister Block to a new café and a restaurant. The new market in Jackson Square by Ocean fresh is due to open in May and the Mustard Seed are working towards their new Co–op in the downtown. The old Junction Café has been sold and work has begun on that property as well as a champagne bar around the corner. There are rumours of more things coming to town soon – like a casino– but all of those mentioned are working on a “New Downtown”. These indicators, plus the condo projects in corktown and more coming, are all indicators of a strong market for 2013. Hamilton is on a upswing with over $1.5 billion spent in development last year up about half a billion, so take notice and if you’re not in it yet, get yourself in to the market. 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
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