Hamilton and Burlington Spring 2025 Real Estate Trends Comparison

by Joanna Gerber

As the spring market gains momentum across Southern Ontario, both Hamilton and Burlington are exhibiting shifts from last year’s activity. In March 2025, the two markets experienced slowdowns in residential real estate activity compared with March 2024, although the degree and price outcomes varied. Each market saw three consecutive months of weakening sales amid rising listings and inventories.

Prices

Bar chart showing Hamilton housing prices by type as of March 2025; detached, semi-detached, row, and apartment prices, all with year-over-year decreases.

Source: RAHB

Bar chart showing Burlington housing prices by type as of March 2025; detached homes are highest, apartments lowest. Year-over-year changes shown above each bar in percentages.

Source: RAHB

Overall Market Activity

Hamilton recorded 444 residential sales in March 2025, a 29.1% decline from 627 transactions in March 2024. By quarter‑end, Hamilton’s cumulative Q1 2025 sales reached 1,218 units, down 21.3% from 1,547 a year earlier. In Burlington, March 2025 sales fell to 155, for a 33.8% drop from 234 in March 2024. Q1 2025 sales amounted to 368 units, a steeper 36.1% decline from Q1 2024. While both markets have shifted toward buyer advantage, Burlington’s sales contraction has been more pronounced.

New Listings and Inventory

Hamilton’s new listings rose to 1,111 in March 2025, up 4.4% from 1,064 in March 2024. Burlington’s new listings climbed to 357, a 5.9% increase over 337 one year earlier. At month‑end, Hamilton posted 1,887 active listings (39.5% above March 2024), whereas Burlington’s inventory reached 513 homes (35.4% above year‑ago). These levels translated into 4.25 months of supply in Hamilton, which was nearly double the 2.17 months of last March, and 3.31 months in Burlington, more than doubling its prior level of 1.62 months.

Sales

In March 2025, both Hamilton and Burlington experienced declines in sales activity across every property category, but there were variations in degree.

Hamilton saw its largest contraction in semi‑detached homes, where sales fell by 36.7%, followed by apartment‑style condos (-38.5%), row‑style homes (-29.5%) and detached houses (-27.2%).

In Burlington, detached‐home sales declined by 22.7%, semi‑detached remained unchanged, row‑style homes plunged by 44.1%, and apartment‐style condos dropped by 42.3%.

Overall, Hamilton’s steepest downturn was in the apartment segment, whereas Burlington’s most pronounced losses occurred in its row‑style and condo markets.