August 2025

August 2025 continued a modest trend of year-over-year sales improvement, recording 460 residential transactions — up 4.8% from August 2024. Like the gains seen in other summer months, this improvement needs context: August 2024 was itself a weak month, and sales in August 2025 remained over 30% below long-term averages for the month. The year-to-date picture through August still showed sales down 9.2% from 2024.

What August delivered was a slight tightening of supply relative to demand — the sales-to-new-listings ratio improved to 45%, up from under 40% throughout the spring — which prevented any further monthly buildup in inventory. The benchmark price held at $703,800, down 9% year over year, with the correction continuing to be felt most acutely in the apartment segment.

Here is a straight read of what happened in Hamilton in August 2025.

August 2025 at a Glance — The Key Numbers

Hamilton recorded 460 total residential sales in August 2025, up 4.8% from August 2024. New listings came in at 1,031 — up 7.4% year over year — while total inventory sat at 2,333 active listings, up 19.9% from the same month last year. The sales-to-new-listings ratio improved to 45% — the best reading since before the spring — and months of supply came in at 5.07, up 14.4% year over year.

The average residential sale price in August was $776,381, down 3.6% from August 2024. The median sale price was $715,000, down 2.1%. Homes sat on the market for an average of 37.1 days — up 7.6% year over year. The unadjusted benchmark price for the Hamilton region was $703,800, down 9% year over year.

Year to date through August, Hamilton had recorded 3,933 total residential sales — down 9.2% from the same period in 2024 — with a year-to-date average price of $785,045, down 2.9%.

The Sales-to-Listings Ratio Improvement — What It Means

The most meaningful data point in August’s report is not the year-over-year sales gain — it is the improvement in the sales-to-new-listings ratio to 45%.

Throughout the spring of 2025, this ratio sat below 40% — meaning for every 100 homes listed, fewer than 40 were selling. That level of demand relative to supply is what drives extended days on market, price reductions, and seller concessions. When the ratio falls below 40% consistently, prices tend to fall.

At 45% in August, the ratio crossed back above a meaningful threshold. This does not signal a seller’s market — that would require readings above 60% — but it does signal that the gap between supply and demand is beginning to narrow. Combined with new listings that, while still elevated, came in slightly below July levels, August produced the first month of 2025 where inventory did not continue to climb month over month. That stabilisation of inventory is a precondition for price stabilisation.

August 2025 by Property Type

The property type breakdown in August showed meaningful divergence across categories, with detached homes continuing to lead and the apartment segment continuing to face the most pressure.

Detached homes recorded 323 sales — up 12.2% year over year — with an average price of $842,787, down 6%, and a median of $760,000, down 4.5%. The benchmark price for detached homes was $767,000, down 8% year over year. Months of supply for detached homes at 4.44 was the tightest reading of any residential category in August, and the sales-to-new-listings ratio of 50% for detached homes indicates relatively balanced conditions in this segment.

Semi-detached homes showed volatile month-to-month movement — just 17 sales, down 22.7% year over year, with an average price of $777,671 up 15%. The thin volume in this category makes monthly comparisons statistically unreliable. The benchmark price of $705,400, down 5% year over year, is the more reliable indicator of value trends in this segment.

Row homes recorded 80 sales — down 7% year over year — with an average price of $668,738, down just 1.4%, and a benchmark of $605,600, down 8% year over year. Months of supply at 5.51 reflects the ongoing inventory overhang in the townhouse segment.

Apartment-style condos continued to face the most significant pressure. With 36 sales — down 14.3% — an average price of $466,369 down 10.5%, and a benchmark of $417,800 down 9% year over year, the condo segment remained deeply in buyer’s market territory at 9.58 months of supply. The median apartment sale price of $405,000 was down 11.3% year over year — the steepest median price decline of any category in August.

Benchmark Prices by Property Type — August 2025

The benchmark price data provides the most stable comparison of where values sit for a typical home in each category.

Detached homes: $767,000, down 8% year over year.

Semi-detached homes: $705,400, down 5% year over year — the most resilient benchmark of any category in August, consistent with the pattern throughout 2025 where semi-detached homes have held their value better than other non-detached types.

Row homes: $605,600, down 8% year over year.

Apartments and condos: $417,800, down 9% year over year. While the 9% decline is significant, it is worth noting that August’s apartment benchmark held better than in some prior months — a tentative signal that the rate of decline may be beginning to slow in this segment.

What the Numbers Look Like by Neighbourhood

August’s district data shows a wide range of conditions across Hamilton’s neighbourhoods — from near-balanced to deeply buyer-favourable depending on location.

Waterdown was the standout district in August — 33 sales with a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 62% and just 3.42 months of supply, the tightest reading of any Hamilton district in the month. The average price of $953,634 was down 8.9% year over year, but the supply conditions in Waterdown were meaningfully better for sellers than anywhere else in the region.

Dundas also showed relative strength with 18 sales, a 51% sales-to-new-listings ratio, and 4.22 months of supply. The average price of $998,017 was up 4.6% year over year, and the full-year Dundas average of $980,919 was up 6% — making Dundas one of very few Hamilton districts showing year-to-date price appreciation in 2025.

Glanbrook and Hamilton Mountain both reported months of supply around 4.2–4.3, among the tighter readings in the city. Hamilton Mountain recorded 120 sales with an average of $709,424 — essentially flat year over year at just +1%.

Ancaster recorded 35 sales with an average of $1,130,486, down 4%, and months of supply at 6.91 — elevated for the upper-end market. Stoney Creek recorded 69 sales with an average of $785,426, down 14.3%, and months of supply at 5.52.

Hamilton East reported the highest months of supply of any district at 6.41, making it the most buyer-favourable area in the city in August. Hamilton Centre showed improvement — 54 sales up 28.6% year over year — with months of supply at 5.44 and an average price of $554,185, up 2.8% year over year.

What This Means for Hamilton Buyers

For buyers, August 2025 offered conditions that remained clearly favourable despite the modest improvement in the sales-to-new-listings ratio. With months of supply at 5.07 overall — and nearly 10 months in the apartment segment — buyers across most property types and most neighbourhoods retained meaningful leverage heading into the fall market.

The $600,000 to $799,999 price bracket continued to dominate August sales volume — the largest single bracket — with the under-$500,000 segment remaining active as condo and entry-level pricing continued to soften. Above $1 million, activity was concentrated in Ancaster, Flamborough, Waterdown, and Dundas.

Buyers targeting detached homes in Waterdown, Dundas, or Glanbrook were operating in the tightest conditions of any area in August — months of supply under 4.5 and sales-to-new-listings ratios approaching or above 50%. In those specific markets, being pre-approved and ready to move quickly matters more than in the city as a whole.

Browse current MLS listings across Hamilton, Ancaster, Stoney Creek, and Burlington to see what current pricing looks like in the areas and price ranges that interest you.

What This Means for Hamilton Sellers

For sellers, August’s data delivered a cautiously more encouraging message than any month since early 2025. The improvement in the sales-to-new-listings ratio to 45% and the stabilisation of inventory — for the first time not continuing to climb month over month — are the two signals worth watching.

That said, conditions still firmly favour buyers in most areas and most property types. The sellers who performed best in August were those in Waterdown, Dundas, and Hamilton Mountain — areas where supply was tightest and competition among buyers was most real. The apartment and row home segments, and districts like Hamilton East and Ancaster, continued to present a more challenging environment where accurate pricing from day one remained the critical success factor.

If you are thinking about listing in fall 2025, the August data suggests the window is slightly more favourable than it was in the spring — but realistic pricing based on current comparable sales, not 2024 or 2023 values, is still non-negotiable.

Frank’s free home evaluation gives you a current, accurate picture of what your home would realistically sell for right now.

Looking Ahead — What August Sets Up for Fall 2025

August’s modest improvement in market balance — the sales-to-new-listings ratio recovering to 45%, inventory stabilising, and detached home supply tightening in select areas — sets up an interesting fall market. The key question heading into September and October was whether this improvement represented the beginning of a sustained trend or a seasonal blip driven by low year-ago comparisons.

The variables to watch through fall 2025 included Bank of Canada rate decisions, whether new listing volumes began to moderate as the seasonal listing window closed, and whether buyer confidence — which appeared to be returning selectively in certain price ranges and neighbourhoods — translated into broader activity.

What August confirmed is that Hamilton’s correction, while still very much underway, was not in freefall. Supply had stabilised. Demand was present at the right prices. The market was adjusting — which for buyers meant continuing opportunity, and for sellers meant that preparation and accurate pricing remained the difference between a successful sale and a stale listing.

Frank Lombardo covers Hamilton, Ancaster, Stoney Creek, Burlington and the surrounding area. If you have questions about what August’s numbers mean for your specific neighbourhood or property, reach out directly.

Call or text: 905-730-2747