January, February 'blockbuster' months for local home sales

Spring weather started early in Hamilton and Burlington this year. And so didthe spring housing market, according to new numbers released by the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington.

Spring is typically when sales pick up after a winter of people bundling up, staying indoors and not wanting to keep their houses clean for showings.

Those kind of general trends have been out the window locally in recent years. But even compared to last year, when things were already indisputablyhot, this January and February were "blockbusters" in the housing market.

"The first two months of 2017 have been blockbusters," said GeorgeO'Neill, CEO of the Realtors Association of Hamilton and Burlington, which keeps track of sales and prices for the region. "The spring market has started early."

Sales and prices up in February

There were1,257 homes sold in February, up about 17 per cent from 2016.

• RELATED:In hot market, just half as many new homes sold in 2016 as a decade ago

In seven of the 14 of the sub-areas that are tracked by local realtorsin Hamilton, average prices of homes sold in Februarywere up more than 30 per cent compared to February last year:

• Hamilton Centre: Average price $332,314, up 31.4 per cent from 2016
• Ancaster: Average price $810,521, up 31.6 per cent from 2016
• Flamborough: Average price$766,235, up32.6 per cent from 2016
• Waterdown: Average price $745,938, up 33.3 per cent from 2016
• Stoney Creek: Average price $562,707, up 32.4 per cent from 2016
• Grimsby: Average price$567,477, up 33.1 per cent from 2016
• Dunnville: Average price$272,256, up 34.5 per cent from 2016

It can be misleading to rely only on average prices, because one outlier high or low can tweak the numbers dramatically.

But in February, the median a more reliable measure of price changes over timerose about the same amount compared to 2016 as the average price did for Hamilton and Burlington.

The median price of homes soldin February was $471,111, up 22.4 per cent from the $385,000 median price in2016.

The average price was $556,818, up 21.9 per cent from $456,697 in 2016.