Hello Everyone,

Well, incredibly enough, with all the news about economic woes, recession, stock market turmoil, and the U.S. housing market crash, our housing market has remained fairly stable. Here are some statistics from the Hamilton-Burlington Real Estate Association:

  Housing sales rebound in September 

(October 2, 2008 - Hamilton, Ontario) The Hamilton-Burlington area resale market reported a total of 1,027 units sold in September, exactly the same number sold in September 2007.

The total unit sales for the first nine months of 2008 are being reported at 7.9 per cent lower than the same period last year, while new units listed are 5.8 per cent higher for the year-to-date, according to Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) statistics released by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB).

"With the turmoil we've seen in the financial markets, home owners should be confident in the equity of their homes.  Over the past nine months, we've consistently seen increases in average price; for the year to date, average price has increased six per cent," said Ann Cosens, RAHB President. "This reaffirms the stability of and instills confidence in the Hamilton-Burlington housing market."

Residential properties sold during September totaled 979 which included 760 freehold properties and 219 condominiums.  Commercial sales for September, including industrial, farm, vacant land and business, totaled 48 units.

The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of September was $303,690, an increase of 9.5 per cent over the same month last year.  In the condominium market the average price of condominiums in September was $209,942, a decrease of 1.3 per cent over September 2007.  The average sale price reflects the dollar volume of residential sales divided by the number of total residential units sold.

The lending market still seems to be tightening up.  Banks are making it more difficult to get loans for refinancing, mortgages and RRSP loans. This is a result of worry over how much a pending U.S. recession will affect our economy

In the near future, I will be offering a financial service which will help people save for a home through debt consolidation, investing to save for a down payment and credit strengthening. Please let me know if you or anyone you know may be interested.

I hope everyone is well.  As always, please feel free to e-mail me or give me a call if you have any questions or comments

                                                                                                        All the best,

                                                                                                        Napoleon

                                                                                                        nwilson@sutton.com

                                                                                                        905-332-4111