(December 3, 2015 – Hamilton, Ontario) The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported 1,262 sales were processed through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in November. Sales were 15.1 per cent higher than the same month last year, 23.8 per cent higher than the 10-year average, and were a record for the month of November. This is the fourth month in a row where records for monthly sales have been broken.
There were 1,340 properties listed in November, an increase of 2.8 per cent compared to November of last year.
“Low inventory and a record number of sales for the month is a recipe for a continued seller’s market,” said RAHB CEO George O’Neill. “With only a little over two months of inventory, and a high sales to new listings ratio, we are continuing in the seller’s market that has persisted in our area .”
Seasonally adjusted* sales of residential properties were 18.9 per cent higher than the same month of the previous year, with the average sale price up 6.8 per cent for the month. Seasonally adjusted numbers of new listings were 1.7 per cent higher than the same month the year prior.
Seasonally adjusted data for residential properties for the month of November, 2015:
Actual overall residential sales of 1,211 units were 15.2 per cent higher than the same month last year. Residential freehold sales were 17.8 per cent higher than last November while sales in the condominium market increased by 4.5 per cent.
The average price of freehold properties showed an increase of nine per cent compared to the same month the previous year; the average sale price in the condominium market decreased by 0.8 per cent when compared to the same period.
The average sale price is based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold by RAHB members. Average sale price information can be useful in establishing long term trends, but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value.
“It’s interesting to note,” added O’Neill. “that while the overall average sale price is almost ten per cent higher than last year at this time, it has actually been fairly level since February. There’s been a little up and down movement in average price, but mostly within a $10,000 range, with the exception of August when we saw the highest average sale price for this year.”
The average days on market decreased from 40 to 36 days in the freehold market and from 39 to 34 days in the condominium market when compared to the same month the previous year.
Year to date, sales are 11.5 per cent higher compared to the same period last year; listings are 6.1 per cent higher than last year and the average sale price is 8.5 per cent higher for the period.
Every community in RAHB’s market area has its own localized residential market. Please refer to the accompanying chart for residential market activity in select areas in RAHB’s jurisdiction.
*Seasonal adjustment removes normal seasonal variations, enabling analysis of monthly changes and fundamental trends in the data.
