Hamilton’s real estate market remains “vulnerable.”
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) says the degree of vulnerability remains high in Hamilton, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria, where the housing market has cooled in recent quarters but property prices remain high.
The housing agency’s latest Housing Market Assessment says Hamilton’s price acceleration continues to be a reality.
It points to population growth for the 25-to-34 age group, high immigration levels, and more GTA buyers coming to the city.
CMHC says this is the 10th quarter in a row that it has given the overall Canadian housing market a “vulnerable” assessment.
The results are based on data as of the end of September 2018.
Key Highlights:
- Despite improved alignment between house prices and housing market fundamentals in the previous quarter, moderate evidence of overvaluation continued to be detected for Canada as a whole in the third quarter of 2018.
- The degree of overall vulnerability remains high for Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto and Hamilton. Overvaluation is still detected in all these centres but it is easing as house prices are moving closer to levels supported by housing market fundamentals such as population, personal disposable income, and interest rates. As a result, the evidence of overvaluation has changed from high to moderate in Toronto and Victoria.
- In Hamilton, signals of overheating and price acceleration continue. Despite conditions of overvaluation easing over the past few quarters, moderate evidence of overvaluation is still detected. With the inventory of completed and unsold new homes decreasing, evidence of overbuilding remains low. Housing demand is driven by population growth for the 25 to 34 age group, as it remains strong due to high immigration levels, as well as high in-migration from the GTA.
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