Listings, Sales, Days on Market Down; Average Price Up (Again)

January 7, 2013 – Hamilton, Ontario)  The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported the residential market saw an 8.3 per cent increase in average sale price in December compared to the same month the previous year.    The median sale price also saw gains over December of last year.

“The month of December was very much like the previous few months,” said RAHB CEO Ross Godsoe, “with fewer listings and sales than last year and also with an increase in average sale price.”

Seasonally adjusted* sales of residential properties were 11.5 per cent lower than the same month last year, with the average sale price up 6.9 per cent for the month.  Seasonally adjusted numbers of new listings were 5.9% per cent lower than the same month last year.

Seasonally adjusted data for residential properties for the month of December, 2012:

Actual overall residential sales were 14.2 per cent lower than the previous year at the same time.  Freehold residential sales were 11.8 per cent lower than last year and the condominium market also saw a decline in sales with a 23.2 per cent decrease.  The average sale price of freehold properties showed an increase of six per cent over the same month last year, while the condominium market saw an increase of 5.6 per cent when compared to the same period.

The average sale price is based on the total dollar volume of all residential properties sold.  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.

“The number of sales in December was down not only in comparison to the previous year’s December sales but also when compared to December sales over the last decade or so,” said Godsoe.   “On average, over the last ten years, December sales are usually closer to 630 units.”

The average days on market dropped from 58 days to 55 days in the freehold market and from 60 days to 52 for condominiums.

The numbers for the month of December 2012 compared to December 2011:

Every community in RAHB’s marketing area has their own localized residential market.  Please refer to the accompanying chart for residential market activities in select areas of RAHB’s jurisdiction.

*Seasonal adjustment removes normal seasonal variations, enabling analysis of monthly changes and fundamental trends in the data.