The Cornerstone Association of Realtors recently reported 2025 was the slowest market year for Hamilton since 2010. 

By Fallon Hewitt: Reporter

A year marked by trade war and “global uncertainty” weighed heavily on the Hamilton housing market — which ground to its slowest year in more than a decade.

And some local real estate experts don’t expect much to change for the area market as 2026 ramps up.

The Cornerstone Association of Realtors reported Tuesday just 5,615 houses sold in the city last year. This marks a nine per cent drop from 2024 and more than 30 per cent below typical levels.

Compared to 2022, which saw a total of 6,923 home sales, residential transactions for Hamilton have plummeted by 19 per cent in three years.

The city’s housing market was historically sluggish in 2025. The association attributed this trend to a lack of affordability and concerns around the trade war with the United States, which prompted potential buyers to be cautious.

Luke O’Reilly, a broker with Royal LePage State Realty, told The Spectator he expects the 2026 market will be heavily tied to “consumer confidence” and pointed to both the ongoing trade war and the resulting economic conditions in the province.

“Last year was very unpredictable and the market reacted to it,” said O’Reilly. “I suspect this year will feel very similar to last.”

Despite that unpredictability, O’Reilly suggested the local market will not “grind to a halt.” 

He noted even a week into the new year, his office has been “really busy,” with potential clients talking about plans for 2026 — especially given people are still buying and selling homes, regardless of uncertainties.

“People can make more informed decisions and really take their time to think through their purchase or sales,” said O’Reilly of market conditions coming out of 2025. “That was more or less the norm before the market went crazy in the pandemic.”

Cornerstone spokesperson Nicolas von Bredow echoed that sentiment in a statement and noted the association is “hopeful for more balanced market conditions to emerge” this year, with lower interest rates and new government incentives for homebuyers.

Both the provincial and federal governments previously announced the removal of HST on new homes up to $1 million for first-time buyers. This combined effort has the potential to unlock savings of up to $130,000.

Conrad Zurini, broker of record at Re/Max Escarpment Realty Inc., told The Spectator the 2026 market will likely be driven by “needs-based buyers” and pointed to those with mortgages up for renewal and first-timers who have been sitting on the sidelines.

“First-time buyers are really wanting to get into the market,” said Zurini. “They’ve been really contemplating the market and their contemplation is coming to an end.”

O’Reilly said people looking to jump back into the market, both buyers and sellers, need to ensure they have some education on what to expect, including on average pricing, trends in neighbourhoods and list-to-sale price ratios.

“If they can be strategic, sellers are finding success,” said O’Reilly. “And as for buyers, there are definitely some good deals to be had.”

A look back at 2025

When reflecting on the 2025 housing market, von Bredow pointed to the trade war as the lead contributor to the market downturn and described it as a year “marked by global uncertainty.”

Von Bredow noted while the trade war not only affected the Canadian economy at large, the impact trickled into the local housing market, “with fewer buyers entering the market due to concerns about job security and higher interest rates.”

While sales remained sluggish in the city, new listings trudged forward, with 13,445 houses hitting the local market during the course of 2025 — a jump of more than six per cent from 2024.

The average residential property in the city spent roughly 39 days on the market in 2025 — a rise of 17 per cent from 2024. Months of supply for the city also swelled to more than four and a half months last year, which represented a 38 per cent increase from 2024.

The average home price in the city last year was $773,896. This marked a decrease from the average price of $806,987 in 2024, according to the association.

Hamilton’s housing market by the numbers

Glanbrook saw the largest drop in home sales, with 343 transactions last year, a nearly 17 per cent decline from 2024.

Meanwhile, Dundas saw the smallest decline in the number of home sales, with 282 sales, and represented a roughly two per cent drop from 2024.

Apartment-style units saw the greatest decline in sales, with 475 properties changing hands, a decrease of nearly 21 per cent year over year.

Detached homes saw the smallest decline, with 3,893 properties selling, a drop of nearly four per cent compared to 2024.

The most expensive area of the city to buy in 2025 was Flamborough, with the average sale price of $1.2 million. The least pricey spot to purchase a home was Hamilton Centre, with an average sale price of $516,414.

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