And just like that, the 2024 season came to a close. What an amazing holiday season it was. We were blessed to host 41 people for a festive dinner, celebrating Christmas with some really amazing people.
When reflecting on the year past, we can respond in one of three ways:
- We could complain about the hardships and celebrate the blessings.
- We could be indifferent about both the hardships and blessings, dismissing it with a “what’s done is done” attitude.
- We could celebrate all of it, knowing that all of life is a gift, even the hard times.
As we looked back on the year past, we acknowledged what was difficult, both personally and in terms of our business. We resolved to correct the things that are within our control, and then we traced a line of good through everything the year brought, including a silver line within the difficulties that we experienced. You know that saying, don’t you?
“Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.”
There are a host of other quotes that are similar, like this one: “All growth happens in the valleys; real life exists between the peaks.” We are thankful that we can see the good that transpired and the fruit that grew as a direct result of the valleys. Seeing the good within the tragedy or experiencing joy in the midst of pain is not a privilege we always experience. Sometimes we can’t see that good, we don’t experience the good, and sometimes, we can’t even look back and see the good. That’s where our faith really holds us up. As Christians, we believe that all things work together for good (Romans 8:28), and so even when we can’t pinpoint what that good is in our lives, there is always good that happens. Of course, we always want to know what that good is, but our faith is tested most when that good is less tangible or even completely unknown to us.
So, as we reflect on 2024, we are thankful. We are thankful for the abundance that we enjoy: the comforts, security, and peace of our land; good food; a warm, cozy home (cool in the summer); a place to go to in the summertime to enjoy with friends and family; vehicles; a church community that walks the talk; music and an amazing community of musicians that we are surrounded by; good friends; good relationships with family; and the amazing clients, new and repeat, that we were blessed with in this past year. We’re thankful for the opportunities that we had to meet new people, forge new relationships, and build new networking opportunities. We’re thankful for the valleys, and those that supported us so unconditionally as we walked through them. We’re thankful that we can look back on this year and see the good fruit it produced, while recognizing how hard some of those stormy valleys were to walk through.
As we look forward to 2025, we’ve already set goals, and we have put plans in place to accomplish them. We expect amazing things, mostly because we know that good will happen regardless of what it feels like, regardless of whether it’s what we want.
Now, some real estate info. As you know, we love our numbers, so here’s a look at what the median price looked like in Hamilton, month by month.
As you can see, the median price moved up and down, but the net change wasn’t significant. The median price in January was $716,000, and when we closed the year a few days ago, the median price was sitting at $728,000.
Looking forward to 2025, we expect the inventory to drop as buyer activity picks up into the spring market. According to Royal LePage’s 2025 forecast, 2025 will see a return to “normal” trends. What’s normal, you ask? “Normal” in terms of real estate trends would be the usual trends in real estate that we’ve historically seen prior to COVID and the ensuing interest rate roller coaster. In most major Canadian markets, home prices outpace inflation significantly, and 2025 is expected to follow that trend, with a predicted 6.0% increase in the aggregate national price. (The aggregate price is a weighted average of the median prices of all housing types across Canada’s markets.)
We expect that Hamilton and the surrounding area (the Golden Horseshoe) will be no exception, and in fact, we believe that our densely populated corner of Canada will outperform the national average. Even so, if Hamilton’s median price increases by the expected 6%, we should see the median price go from $728,000 to $770,000 or better by year’s end.
As we’ve always said in January, now is a great time to buy. Prices are probably the lowest we’ll see all year, and when you’re viewing a home in January, you’re seeing it at its worst, meaning you’ll have fewer surprises, and we are able to negotiate an even better price for you as a buyer.
As always, if you or your family, friends, coworkers, or neighbours are thinking about making a move in real estate, we would love to go a head above for them.
We are never too busy for any of your referrals!
