Hello Everyone Investing in Hamilton Ontario (and surrounding areas)!!!!!!!!!!
December is almost upon us, families are ramping up for Black Friday sales aka the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season. Â The snow is falling as is the temperature, hose bibs are shut off, safety salt is delivered to each of our properties, boot trays and door mats have been deployed, I’ll have my winter tires installed next week, etc…
For us as real estate investors though, it’s been busy for different reasons: in the last week we managed four accepted offers on investment properties (three in Hamilton, one in St. Catharines).  Sounds great, no?  Not really, when you consider the previous four weeks where we only had one accepted offer.
What’s changed? Does no one want Hamilton any more? Has the in-migration fallen off?  Are folks losing their jobs?
Nothing has changed. Â Nothing economically fundamental that is. Â The weather is just colder and the market is slowing as it usually does as the general public is Xmas shopping or enjoying the comfort of their warm homes.
Our offers were accepted because there was less competition, as only twice we had to compete with one other offer. The others we were the only offer. Â We still had to pay near list, or above, but at least we were not competing against four to eight offers every time with the winning offers being UN-conditional.
That is how sophisticated investors operate. Â We go against the grain!
Now everyone says winter is a great time to buy but here’s the statistical proof:
Below is a graph of the number of sold houses (three bedroom detached, starter homes), over the last three years on the Hamilton Mountain. Â Can you guess which seasons are the troughs and which are the peaks?
Done guessing? Â Now here’s the same graph with the months labelled on the X-axis:
Notice how less transactions happen in the winter months and the most occur after the snow melts in spring?
What’s your takeaway, as an investor having this information advantage, going to be? Might it be to take action, as other sophisticated investors do, and purchase properties when you can expect less competition?  I know we are, as two of our properties have appreciated enough to refinance to free up enough capital for another down payment.
If you are ready to take the next step towards securing your future financial freedom, let us know! We’re here to help.
Till next time – Happy Hamilton Investing Everyone!
Erwin |Â MrHamilton.ca
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