The Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) says the benchmark price in the housing market has trended up for the fifth consecutive month.

In a release, the agency says the area sold 1,254 homes in May, which represents a 12 per cent increase in homes sold over the previous month and a three per cent increase in sales compared to May 2022,

RAHB says the three per cent year-over-year increase in sales was driven by stronger home sales in Hamilton, Niagara North and Burlington.

New home listings remain significantly lower than the levels traditionally reported this time of year. However, there has been a 32 percent increase in listings in the past month, resulting in a total of 2,031 new homes being listed.

The agency says there were 1,860 units available, which is lower than the previous year’s inventory and 25 percent below the typical trend for the month.

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Rising sales and lower inventories has led to a decrease in the months of supply, dropping from 1.7 months in May 2022 to 1.5 months in May of this year.

“Higher lending rates have impacted sales. However, lower inventory levels are preventing the market from becoming oversupplied and are likely contributing to some of the recent monthly gains we are seeing in home prices,” says Nicolas von Bredow, RAHB President.

“While prices remain below last year’s peak, the recent gains have helped support more confidence amongst both buyers and sellers.”

According to the release, the unadjusted benchmark price in May was $877,100 across the area, which is just shy of a one per cent price increase over the previous month and 11 per cent lower than May 2022.

RAHB says despite the adjustments made in 2022, the prices observed in May continued to surpass the levels reported for most of 2021.

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