Hamilton to Outperform in 2012

Hello Investors Investing in Hamilton Real Estate!!

Boy oh boy are you investors keeping me busy!Â So busy that I’ve been planning this post since late 2011 when I attended the Hamilton CMCH 2012 Outlook Conference.Â On top of helping investors I’ve been busy selling my own house, buying another, renovating, dating my girlfriend, going on vacation, Xmas, et cetera et cetera.Â Home renovations are still going, a new HVAC system is going in, all the radiators are being cut off, I’m no closer to picking which 36″ gas range I want because they’re all expensive and I just want one for the look 🙂

Anyways, its a new year and I hope you’re well into your new habits that you have derived from your values and goals.Â If you haven’t, here are some basic tips from my experience to get you started:

I know its morbid but when you leave this planet, how do you want to be remembered?Â A philanthroper? Generous? The grandparent who paid for their grandchildren’s university tuition?
If you had some extra money, say $100,000, do you know any organization, charity, friends, a family member that can benefit from it?Â Would you like some extra time off from work to spend with your family or travel or both?Â I think we all do.

Answering those questions should help you clarify and motivate you to be investing or starting a business that provides you regular income.Â By the way, I heard on the radio the average university student graduates with $37,000 in debt so those of you who have kids, buy at least one house per kid.Â I have one client who’s daughter will run Track for Canada at this coming summer Olympic games in London, Englad this year.Â She plans on attending this year and if all goes to plan two more Olympics after that.Â Imagine how motivated she is to invest!!

Anyways, back to real estate investing in Hamilton, CMCH has predicted Hamilton to outperform in 2012 (unlike Toronto and KWC…) here are the slides from my friend Sarah Fong, Senior Market Analyst for CMCH: CMCH 2012 Outlook

And here are my notes and analysis:

Hamilton’s unemployment in 2011 ended at 6.5% in December vs. the Provincial average of 7.7% and the forecast for Hamilton for 2012 is 7.1%.
Always a good idea to be investing in areas with above average employment rates!

A comparison of the carrying costs of a 3 bedroom home vs. a 3 bedroom apartment
That is just principal and interest. Factoring in taxes, insurance, heat and water and the real gap is much wider.
The gap is widening so home ownership is becoming less afforable compared to renting
Renters will need more time to save for a downpayment which means longer-term tenants for us home service providers 🙂

Slow and steady price appreciation which is great for those who already own property or looking to acquire.Â We don’t want volatility like in 2008-2010.
From what I’m seeing on the street these last 30 days would contradict this graph, several multiple offer situations.Â This week, we had an offer on a great property near the future James St N Go Station but there were FIVE other offers with the winner going 10k over without conditions…

Job growth and fantastic affordability is attracting people from the GTA to move to Hamilton.
Inmigration = increased demand for rentals and will push prices upwards.
I buy in a city where there is growing demand for real estate

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One final thing this week, on a unrelated note, considering how poorly they treated Maria, my client and I, Karma is a bitch… I’ll leave it at that.