10 Tough Questions with Jeff Bonner

Jeff Bonner is an engaged Hamiltonian and also, a realtor. Here is Jeff on 10 Tough Questions. 


1. How has the recent plunge in the economy specifically affected the Hamilton Real Estate market?

From where I stand, the economic turbulence didn’t really affect the Hamilton real estate market that much. The market saw some areas of Hamilton go into a decline in sales and price, such as Hamilton Mountain and Ancaster. Hamilton Mountain prices were actually on a downward trend for a while, looking at one year of average price data, but that has reversed itself and prices are going positive again. However, the drop in number of sales was much more significant than any drop in prices. Real estate in general didn’t sell very quickly, and it was worse for higher-priced listings. A clear example is Flamborough seeing an average time-on-market over 100 days at one point.

On the other hand, some local districts sailed through as if nothing were wrong. Even in the worst part of the market downturn, there were parts of Hamilton where real estate was selling in an average of 25 days. I think this is partly due to our being located close to Toronto. We’re just close enough for Toronto investors to look at, but far enough away that our prices are attractive. And the fact that we don’t have the extra municipal land transfer tax (MLTT) was beneficial. The extra MLTT really bites into the return-on-investment for any property up there. I noticed a large influx of investors from the GTA looking at investment properties in the lower city and east end, and this probably contributed a lot to balancing out our market.

2. What advice might you have for Hamiltonians who are looking to buy or sell real estate in the next 6 months?

For buyers, I’d say to go to your bank or a good mortgage broker and get a mortgage pre-approved for as long as you can. A pre-approval will hold the interest rate until the pre-approval expires (usually 90 days). While the Bank of Canada says it’s holding its rates steady for now, we never know what mortgage rates will do. They’re at their all-time low right now, so it’s a good idea to lock it in for as long as you can with a pre-approval. Besides this benefit, it’s the logical first-step anyways, because then you know your maximum purchase price and that there are no surprises on your credit history. Your real estate agent will also feel better knowing you can actually buy. I tend not to work with buyers who put off getting a pre-approval, and a lot of agents feel the same way.

For sellers, you need to get educated on what the market is doing in your specific area. Find out what the average price is like, both listing and actual sale. Here’s a tip, you’ll need a real estate agent for the actual sale prices, because the public doesn’t have easy access to historical sale data. Attend open houses in your area to get a feel for how those properties stack up against yours. You’ll be competing against properties like that when you put your house up for sale. And finally, be realistic. We all want to put more money in our pockets, but being unrealistic with the list price can just drag the process out, wasting time, advertising money, and opportunity.

I wrote a little article back in the midst of the “crisis” on the importance of realistic expectations, available at http://www.jeffsellshomes.ca/articles/realistic.html

3. What unique characteristics of Hamilton, as a city, make it difficult or easy to attract real estate buyers?

As mentioned above, we’re close to the GTA, but not really a part of it. We have the transit in place for people to commute to work in the GTA, and our housing prices are attractive enough to entice some of these people to buy their personal residence here. We are also still attractive to long-term investors looking for areas-in-transition, as well as cash-flow investors looking for a deal. The image still makes it difficult for many, though, and some are turned off by our high property taxes.

4. How would you describe Hamilton's image and how could we capitalize on it or improve upon it, depending on how you've assessed it?

I think we’re largely seen as Toronto’s dirty inept little brother, but I think the city is already doing a lot to correct that false image. The world just needs to see more of Hamilton than the view across the water from Burlington or Toronto. Many visitors are surprised at what a beautiful city it really is, once they get to see it. We just need to keep pushing to educate outsiders on what the city has to offer. We should also try to promote our history as a forward-thinking city and reclaim that heritage.

I think an effort that requires special mention and applause is Chris Ecklund and the fantastic job he is doing with his “City of Waterfalls” campaign.

5. Who do you consider to be the most effective Hamilton councillor and why have you chosen that person?

Hmmm, I didn’t think the words “effective” and “councillor” went together in Hamilton. The atmosphere and parochial culture of the council doesn't allow any individual councillor to be very effective in my eyes. That said, though, I think I’d choose Tom Jackson. His support of the city's economic growth and development at the harbour & airport is the kind of philosophy we need in the city.

6. Do you think amalgamation was a good thing for Hamilton, or was it a mistake? Why?

I think it is a good thing in the long run. It minimizes the size of government required and reduces costs to the taxpayers in that sense. In the short term, perhaps we’ve seen a lot of NIMBYism and parochial politicking, but they seem to be gradually getting over this.

Once we have a council that is looking at the larger picture and thinking in terms of the greater good, rather than localized interests and lobby groups, the benefits of amalgamation will start to become more clear. Then we’ll become the power house that we should rightfully be.

7. If you had to select one property in the downtown core that has the most potential, but is being under-utilized, what property would that be and why?

I know it sounds cliché, but probably the Lister. Besides the fact that it looks ugly in its present state and drags down the image of the city core, the lost revenue from taxes on successful businesses running in the location is staggering to think of. While it would be nice to see it redeveloped into a profitable commercial building, it would be better as a parking lot than as the derelict it has been.

8. Hamilton continues to have a problem with derelict properties and the phenomenon of "demolition by neglect". How do we arrest this continued erosion of properties?

Personally, I would suggest that we need to reclaim Hamilton’s historical forward-thinking philosophy. While old architecture has its value, it's unfortunate that we would sacrifice our city’s economic health to save it.

Properties like the Lister were once beautiful, yes, but now they have become blights in the downtown scene. By designating them ‘heritage’, we make it so much more difficult to use these properties in any practical way, and thus find ourselves wasting all kinds of time and money trying to work within the designation’s strict rules.

Hamilton was once a leading city in the country, both economically and socially. Hamilton can proudly make such claims as having the first stop light in Canada, the first Commonwealth Games, the first black MP, the first sanitary water fountains, the first telephone exchange in the British empire, and the list goes on.

We were leaders in the past, because we lived in the present and looked forward, planning for the future. Back in 1887, the city realized that the city hall needed to be replaced – no messing around “sprucing up a dead horse” like we do these days.

9. What's the greatest lesson you've learned in your line of work?

If you get stuck in your past, you’re useless to the present. If you live in your future, no one is taking care of business while you daydream. Learn from the past and plan for the future, but live in the present.

10. When selling Hamilton properties, what is the most common concern expressed by potential buyers, relative to our city, communities and neighbourhoods, rather than to the actual physical properties?

It’s probably just a sign of the times and a symptom of the general consumer malaise we’ve seen with the economic downturn, but recently most people are concerned about property values. They don’t want to put their money into a property and have it lose value. Largely, this is because of the impression people get from the news, and is not truly a significant concern when looking at historical data and long-term forecasts.

Second to that, and much more significant in my view, buyers very commonly express a concern about our high municipal tax rates in comparison to other cities.

Special thanks to Jeff for his interest in Hamilton. Visit Jeff Here

Comments are welcomed.

Note: Fixed numbering. Thanks for the catch.