Raise the Hammer

"The average price of a new, single-detached home will reach $465,000 in the Hamilton CMA in 2011. In just a few short years, the continuing diversification of the city's economy will result in an economy unrecognizable when compared to the past decades. This renewal will drive demand for real estate (rentals as well as ownership) in the city, especially in older neighbourhoods going through transition. Among these: Hamilton Mountain.

Hamilton Mountain, (aka The Niagara Escarpment) cuts through the middle of the city, and is primarily divided into three areas, East Mountain, West Mountain and Central Mountain. The socioeconomic composition of the Hamilton Mountain is diverse, having low-income public housing residents as well as million dollar estates, highly paid unionized workers and small-wage unskilled workers, and well-established families and recent immigrants. When Hamilton suffered from the economic crisis, a lot of people left the Mountain as more businesses and work were found in Hamilton's downtown core.

As a result, the older homes, which make up the majority of the Mountain - namely East Mountain - were unkempt and down-trodden. However, as accessibility around Hamilton Mountain became easier with the development of the Lincoln Alexander Expressway (a.k.a the LINC) and the new Red Hill Valley Parkway, residents could now get from one end of the city to the other within 15 minutes.

These expressways also connected to Hwy 403 at the west end and connected to the Red Hill Valley Parkway at the east leading to the Q.E.W., cutting the commute to downtown Toronto, Mississauga and Oakville. Over the years many people have moved to the area because of new construction homes - Hamilton Mountain will continue to have the most active markets for new home construction of single-detached homes and townhouses given the greater availability of land for development - and resale homes prices are attractive and affordable, compared to areas such as Toronto, Mississauga and Oakville."


http://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca/cross-country/hotspots/item/700-hamilton-on-the-rise