Hamilton

Hamilton houses versus condos: two markets moving in different directions

By Chris Ouzas, Broker, Michael Ouzas Real Estate Team, Royal LePage Signature Realty. September 2026.

Detached houses and townhouses, semis, and condos are not the same market right now. One is thinning out at higher prices. The other is selling faster on lower prices. Here is what the June 2026 numbers say about each, and what they mean if you are buying or selling.

Source: Cornerstone Association of REALTORS (the Hamilton board), ITSO MLS data, City of Hamilton, June 2026 release.

Two markets, one release

Every month the Hamilton board breaks the City of Hamilton numbers into two groups: single family homes, meaning detached and other freehold houses, and the townhouse, semi, and condo group together. In June 2026 those two groups told different stories. Single family sales were down 4.5 per cent from June 2025, to 357, while the average price fell 8.7 per cent to $830,049 and the median landed at $730,000. Townhouses, semis, and condos moved the opposite way: sales were up 18.6 per cent, to 172, while the average price fell a smaller 7.5 per cent to $580,902, with a median of $587,750.

Months of supply and days on market tell the same story from a different angle. Single family homes sit at 4.7 months of supply and sell in 34 days on average. Townhouses, semis, and condos sit at 5.9 months of supply, closer to buyer's territory, and take 48 days on average to sell. Across the whole city, all property types combined, the average is 5.0 months of supply and 38 days, which is why the two halves of the market can look balanced together while pulling in different directions apart.

What it means if you are buying

A single family house is moving faster and losing less ground on price than the condo and townhouse segment. If you want a detached house, treat 34 days as the real clock. Homes priced close to the current market are not sitting long. A townhouse, semi, or condo is a different situation. At 5.9 months of supply and 48 days on market, there is more room to look and compare, and the 18.6 per cent jump in sales tells us more buyers have already noticed that room and are acting on it. That segment is also where entry-level pricing lives: a $580,902 average versus $830,049 for single family is a meaningful gap for a first purchase or a downsize.

What it means if you are selling

Single family sellers still have the advantage on speed. At 4.7 months of supply, a well priced detached house is not going to sit. The trade is price: the 8.7 per cent year over year drop is real, and pricing to last year's numbers is how a house ends up parked past the 34 day average. Townhouse, semi, and condo sellers are working a slower, more competitive market. Buyers have more to choose from at 5.9 months of supply, so presentation and pricing both matter more than they do for a detached house right now. The upside is real demand: sales up 18.6 per cent means more buyers are shopping this segment than a year ago, even with prices still soft.

Where the condo inventory is

Hamilton's condo and apartment stock is not spread evenly across the city. The deepest concentration in the lower city is Durand, downtown, where roughly 1,500 apartment units sit alongside the neighbourhood's century mansions, a mix built up over decades of conversions and mid-rise development. Based on the sales we track in that pocket, a two bedroom Durand condo runs $650,000 to $850,000, with typically 30 to 50 units trading in a year. The Hamilton Centre district that contains Durand also includes Kirkendall and the Locke Street corridor, both mostly freehold, which is part of why the district's blended average sits well below the single family numbers above. Buyers who want condo inventory and downtown walkability start their search in Durand. Buyers who want the townhouse and semi mix at more moderate prices look further out, in the districts that trade closer to the city's $580,902 average.

The full monthly release for every property type and every district is on the Hamilton market page, and each neighbourhood's own numbers are broken out in the neighbourhood guides.

Source: Cornerstone Association of REALTORS (the Hamilton board), ITSO MLS data, City of Hamilton, June 2026 release. All residential property types, single family versus townhouse, semi, and condo grouping as reported by the Hamilton board.

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