Sellers market persists, realtors say

The Hamilton area saw a 7.6 per cent increase in sales in December compared to the same time last year, the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington announced Wednesday.

We saw a very strong real estate market in December, said RAHB President Donna Bacher in a press release. Listings and sales were both above average for the month. We havent seen a December market like this since 2009.

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There were 695 properties listed in Hamilton and Burlington last month, which is a 15.4 per cent increase compared to December of 2013. The association finished the month with 13 per cent less inventory, too.

With more properties selling than were listed in December, we may be in for an interesting January, Bacher said. Statistically speaking, weve now sold some of the listing inventory, leaving us with considerably fewer listings going into the new year. The low inventory and Decembers strong sales mean we remain in a sellers market.

The average price for a property went up 5.4 per cent compared to the same month last year, but the average sale price in the condo market went down by 2.2 per cent when compared to the same period the year before.

Condos are also on the market slightly longer this year than the year before, the report shows. Average days on the market for condos increased from 47 to 53 days, while dropping from 51 to 45 days for other properties.