Hamilton-Burlington area inventories rise as sales ease and prices soften: CAR

Last month, 804 homes were sold in the Hamilton-Burlington area via MLS, the Cornerstone Association of Realtors (CAR) reports.

This contributed to a year-to-date decline of six per cent. Although year-to-date sales declined across the Hamilton-Burlington market area, July’s Niagara North levels were comparable to the same time last year. 

Third consecutive year of sales below long-term trends 

“This marks the third consecutive year that sales have remained below long-term trends. At the same time, we are experiencing a gain in new listings. While rates are slowly coming down, for some existing owners the prospect of higher renewal rates is enough to cause them to list their properties, driving up supply levels,” says Nicolas von Bredow, Cornerstone spokesperson for the Hamilton-Burlington market area.

New listings in July rose relative to sales, lowering the sales-to-new-listings ratio to 42 per cent. Inventory levels are similar to last month and higher than last year, while months-of-supply surpassed four months (which has not happened in July since 2010).

More supply brings more choice and lower prices

More supply offers buyers more choice and continues to place downward pressure on home prices, with the unadjusted benchmark price at $843,500, almost one per cent lower than in June and three per cent lower than in July 2023.

Although prices are below the 2022 peak, they’re still higher than pre-pandemic levels and year-to-date average benchmark prices are just slightly lower than last year.

Review the full report for more information, and see other CAR market stats here.