(May 5, 2010 – Hamilton, Ontario) The Greater Hamilton-Burlington area resale market reported a total of 1537 units sold in April, an increase of 38.2 per cent over April of last year, according to the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) statistics released by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB). When compared to March of this year, total unit sales were 7.3 per cent higher in April, 2010.

“This spring market is one of the best we’ve had,” said RAHB President Joe Ferrante. "The number of residential sales is the highest in any April on record, and we broke last month’s new record for the number of listings taken in a month, ever.” Residential properties sold during April totalled 1490, which included 1228 freehold properties and 262 condominiums. Commercial sales for April, including industrial, farm, vacant land and business, totalled 47 units.

The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of April was $336,625, an increase of 11.35 per cent over the same month last year and an increase of under one per cent over last month.

In the condominium market, the average price of condominiums in April was $230,186, an increase of over seven per cent over April, 2009 and an increase of four per cent from last month. The average sale price reflects the dollar volume of residential sales divided by the number of total residential units sold. April’s total average residential sale price increased 11.1 per cent over the same month in 2009.

The total number of units listed for sale during April was 2517, which is almost 35 per cent higher than were listed in the same month in 2009.

“This strong market is expected to last through the spring,” added Ferrante, “but it will probably be at the expense of the second half of the year, when the HST kicks in and mortgage rates go up again.” Unit sales reflect “all property types” including residential, condominiums, commercial property, farmland and sales of businesses.

Source: http://www.rahb.ca/newsdetails.php?id=135