Hamilton · May 2026
Hamilton Market Report — May 2026
$755,202
Average price ▼ $26,946
2220
Active listings ▲ 146
36
Avg. days on market ▲ 1
Every figure in this report is drawn from ITSO / Cornerstone Association of REALTORS® MLS® data for the Hamilton service area, current as of June 2, 2026. It’s the same source data REALTORS® use, presented in plain language.
Key takeaways
- Hamilton’s average sale price was $755,202 in May 2026, down 3.3% year-over-year and 4.6% below the 2025 year-to-date average.
- Single-family median price held flat at $765,000 year-over-year; condo and townhouse median price fell 8.4% to $577,500 — the sharpest decline of any metric in this report.
- Sales fell 11.0% year-over-year to 542 homes, while new listings fell even faster, down 20.7%, which kept months of supply from rising further.
- Condos and townhouses now carry 6.1 months of supply (buyer-favourable); single-family sits at a more balanced 4.5 months.
- Hamilton’s housing affordability index improved to 61 from 57 a year ago — one of the only metrics moving in buyers’ favour.
May 2026 at a glance
Hamilton’s average sale price was $755,202 in May, down 3.3% from a year earlier and roughly 4.6% below where the year-to-date average stood through the same five months of 2025. Sales also slowed, with 542 homes changing hands citywide compared to 609 a year ago — an 11.0% decline that tracked alongside an even sharper pullback in new listings, down 20.7% year-over-year to 1,228 properties. Sellers received 97.7% of their asking price on average, just under last year’s 98.6%. The median sale price across all property types was $692,500, down 3.1% from $715,000 a year earlier.
Where prices have actually moved: single-family vs. condo/townhouse
The city-wide average smooths over a real split between property types. Single-family median price held essentially flat at $765,000, unchanged from a year earlier — sellers of detached and semi-detached homes are, on the whole, still getting roughly what comparable homes fetched last spring. Townhouses and condos told a different story: their median fell 8.4% year-over-year to $577,500, the sharpest decline of any metric in this report.
| May 2026 | Single Family | Townhouse / Condo | All Residential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median price | $765,000 (0.0% YoY) | $577,500 (−8.4% YoY) | $692,500 (−3.1% YoY) |
| Average price | $840,166 (−2.1% YoY) | $566,055 (−6.6% YoY) | $755,202 (−3.3% YoY) |
| New listings | 826 (−21.3% YoY) | 402 (−19.6% YoY) | 1,228 (−20.7% YoY) |
| Sales | 374 (−11.6% YoY) | 168 (−9.7% YoY) | 542 (−11.0% YoY) |
| Days on market | 32 (+14.3% YoY) | 46 (+17.9% YoY) | 36 (+16.1% YoY) |
| Months of supply | 4.5 (−8.2% YoY) | 6.1 (+10.9% YoY) | 5.0 (−2.0% YoY) |
The gap shows up in months of supply too: single-family sits at 4.5 months, broadly balanced, while condos and townhouses have drifted to 6.1 — solidly buyer-favourable territory, and the highest reading for that segment in this data set.
Curious how specific pockets of the city compare? See our neighbourhood guides for Westdale, known for character single-family homes; Crown Point, popular with first-time buyers and investors; and Binbrook, Hamilton’s newer-build suburban segment.
Year-to-date: how the first five months of 2026 compare to 2025
A single month can be noisy. Looking at the full five-month stretch from January through May gives a steadier read on where 2026 actually stands against 2025.
| YTD (Jan–May) | Single Family | Townhouse / Condo | All Residential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 1,462 (−9.7%) | 706 (−8.4%) | 2,168 (−9.3%) |
| Average price | $827,032 (−4.1%) | $576,190 (−5.8%) | $745,309 (−4.6%) |
| New listings | 3,339 (−14.3%) | 1,802 (−12.3%) | 5,141 (−13.6%) |
| Days on market | 39 (+14.7%) | 50 (+13.6%) | 43 (+16.2%) |
The year-to-date numbers confirm the monthly snapshot rather than contradict it: sales and new listings are both down by similar margins across every segment, average price is softer everywhere but more so for condos and townhouses, and homes are taking noticeably longer to sell across the board than they did over the same stretch in 2025.
The nine-month price trend
Looking at the city’s combined average price month by month tells a more textured story than any single comparison. Prices dipped through the fall and bottomed in December at $662,209 — typical seasonal softness, exaggerated this year by thin sales volume — before climbing back through the winter and spring to land at $755,202 in May. That recovery has been steady rather than sharp: April actually posted a slightly higher average ($782,148) than May, a reminder that month-to-month swings in a market this size often say more about which specific homes closed than about a shift in underlying value.
Demand and supply: sales, new listings, and inventory
New listings fell faster than sales did this spring — down 20.7% year-over-year against an 11.0% sales decline. That combination kept months of supply from climbing further even as the pace of transactions slowed: both sides of the market pulled back at once, rather than inventory piling up unsold. Active inventory at the end of May stood at 2,220 homes, down 7.7% from a year earlier, and Hamilton’s overall months of supply sits at 5.0, essentially unchanged from 5.1 a year ago.
The charts below tell slightly different stories by segment. Single-family inventory fell 9.4% year-over-year to 1,395 active listings, while condo and townhouse inventory declined more modestly, down 4.7% to 825 — one reason the condo segment’s months of supply has climbed even as overall city-wide supply held steady.
How long homes are taking to sell
Days on market has been drifting upward all year. The city-wide average reached 36 days in May, up 16.1% from 31 days a year earlier, and the year-to-date average of 43 days is running 16.2% ahead of the same period in 2025. Single-family homes are still moving faster (32 days) than condos and townhouses (46 days), but both segments are taking longer to sell than they were a year ago — a sign that buyers have more time to make decisions than they did during the tighter markets of recent years.
Home values are still adjusting
The ShowingTime Housing Value Index, which adjusts for seasonality and segment mix to track real underlying value rather than the raw sale price of whatever happened to sell in a given month, fell across the board in May. Hamilton’s combined index dropped 8.6% year-over-year, with single-family down a more moderate 6.6% and condos and townhouses down a sharper 12.3%. This index moving in the same direction as median and average price — rather than against it — is a useful confirmation that the price softness in this report reflects a genuine shift in value, not just a change in which homes happened to sell.
Affordability moved the other way
One number bucking the broader slowdown: Hamilton’s affordability index rose to 61 from 57 a year earlier, and the year-to-date affordability index of 63 is up 10.5% from 57 over the same five months in 2025. A higher reading means a typical household qualifies more comfortably for a median-priced home under current rates and incomes than it did last May — a genuinely encouraging data point inside an otherwise mixed report. The improvement is most pronounced for condo and townhouse buyers, whose segment-specific affordability index climbed to 73 from 65 a year ago.
The national backdrop
Hamilton’s slowdown is happening against a softer national market, not in isolation. The Canadian Real Estate Association reported that home sales nationally edged up just 0.7% month-over-month in May — the first increase in six months — but remained down 4% year-over-year on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, a trend CREA attributed to higher mortgage rates and continued global economic uncertainty. New listings rose 4.1% nationally, bringing total Canadian inventory to 187,647 properties, still 6.1% below the long-term average for the time of year. The national Composite MLS® Home Price Index dipped just 0.1% month-over-month, its smallest decline since October 2025 — broadly consistent with the gradual, rather than sharp, softening Hamilton’s own numbers show.
What this means if you’re buying or selling
If you’re selling a detached or semi-detached home, the flat single-family median is the more relevant comparison than the city-wide average, and pricing close to recent, similar sales still carries real weight — competition for well-priced single-family listings hasn’t disappeared, even with overall sales down. If you’re selling a condo or townhouse, the math looks different: a 6.1-month supply and a median down 8.4% year-over-year mean pricing has to reflect where the market is today, not where it was a year ago. See our guide on how to prepare your home for sale for what tends to move the needle most.
If you’re buying, May’s numbers are the most buyer-friendly the condo and townhouse segment has looked in this data set — more inventory, longer time on market, and sellers receiving a smaller share of their asking price. Single-family buyers have less room to negotiate, but improved affordability and a slightly longer average time on market than a year ago still suggest more room than this market offered through its peak years. If you’re working through the process for the first time, our key steps to buying a house walks through what to expect. Investors weighing the condo segment’s longer days on market and softer pricing against its income potential may also want our essential steps for buying an investment property.
Frequently asked questions
Are home prices dropping in Hamilton in 2026?
Yes, on a year-over-year basis. The average sale price across all property types was down 3.3% in May 2026 versus May 2025, and the year-to-date average is down 4.6%. Single-family median price is essentially unchanged, while condo and townhouse prices have fallen more sharply.
Is Hamilton a buyer’s market or a seller’s market right now?
It depends on the segment. Single-family homes, at 4.5 months of supply, are close to balanced — generally considered a buyer’s market starts above 5 to 6 months. Condos and townhouses, at 6.1 months of supply, have moved more clearly into buyer-favourable territory.
What is “months of supply” and why does it matter?
Months of supply is the number of months it would take to sell all current inventory at the current pace of sales. Lower numbers (roughly under 4) favour sellers; higher numbers (roughly above 6) favour buyers. Hamilton’s overall reading of 5.0 sits in between — a genuinely balanced market, even though the two segments underneath it are pulling in different directions. For more terms like this, see our real estate terms glossary.
How does Hamilton’s market compare to the rest of Canada?
Hamilton’s pullback in sales and prices is broadly in line with the national picture. CREA reported Canadian home sales down 4% year-over-year in May, with national prices essentially flat month-over-month — Hamilton’s softness is real but not an outlier.
About this report
Figures in this report come from ITSO Monthly Indicators data for the Hamilton service area, compiled by the Cornerstone Association of REALTORS® and ShowingTime Plus, LLC, current as of June 2, 2026. “Single Family” includes detached and semi-detached homes; “Townhouse/Condo” includes townhouse, condo, and semi-detached-style attached properties as classified by ITSO. Percent changes are calculated using rounded figures and may not sum exactly.
Curious how these numbers apply to a specific property, or want a more detailed read on a particular Hamilton neighbourhood? Get in touch for a no-obligation conversation, browse current Hamilton-area listings, or get a free home value estimate. New reports are published monthly — see the full archive on the market reports page.
Looking just outside Hamilton? See how the corridor’s other markets are doing in the Burlington and Stoney Creek market reports.
Wondering what this means for your home in Hamilton?
I'm happy to walk through how these numbers apply to your specific situation — no pressure, no obligation.