Increase In Listings As Investors Cash Out

The current stats that was released showed that existing owners and investors seem to have cashed out of the blazing real estate market. In the course of last month as stated by the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington, latest listings went up in Hamilton as existing home owners made best use of the blazing market.

George O’Neill, CEO of RAHB said; “Listings continue to be the story; the difference is that two months ago we reported on the sustained low inventory of listings and this month we are talking about a record for new listings. The increase in listings suggests that homeowners have been watching the market, seen home values increase significantly over the last year or two, and decided to take advantage of those increases.”

The listings that were processed via the MLS system last month, was a record of 3,208 as reported by the association. This was an increase of 41.1% over the year and a decade average of 34.8%. In April, the average price of homes was $604,848, an increase of 4% over the month and 24.8% over the year. On the other hand, sales decreased by 15.1% over the month but was equally stable over the year at -0.6%. The association claimed that even though the sales went down drastically from April to last month, the reason behind this was not the housing plan for April.

O’Neill said; “Sales remained steady through the month of May. With the increase in listings and steady sales, we appear to be moving toward more balance, which tends to be a healthier market overall. The question I am asked most frequently is whether this change in the market relates to the Fair Housing Plan recently announced by the Ontario government. Our members reported seeing a shift in the market even before the announcement. It’s possible that sellers read and heard that changes were coming and decided to act sooner rather than later. Sales remain strong, suggesting the Non-Resident Speculation Tax announced in April doesn’t seem to have had an influence in our area.”