Thursday, June 2, 2011

Hammertown

Hello everyone, I have been thinking about putting a post about Hamilton ON for a while now, it is not about mortgages, but about the incredible City of Hamilton. If you are reading this from outside of Hamilton and can’t figure out how I could possibly call this city incredible, then it is obvious that you need to finish reading this article. Hamilton is looking for young energetic people that want to get a jump start on life by bringing their skills and enthusiasm to a city that is exploding with opportunity.

The city of Hamilton has probably been asleep for 50 years or more with not much growth and development; however that is starting to change. Rein has voted Hamilton the #1 city in Ontario to invest in and #3 in Canada, The Financial Times actually said that Hamilton is ranked in the top 10 of the future of North America and I rank Hamilton as the most affordable city in the Golden Horseshoe to live in.

When you consider that you can purchase a beautiful 3 bedroom bungalow in a good neighbourhood in Hamilton for around $250,000 compared to the price of a two bedroom condo around $300,000 + condo fees + parking fees in Toronto it is no wonder why so many young professionals are moving to Hamilton. The city of Hamilton has home prices from 100k in the Industrial Sector up to and over 1 million in the Durand neighbourhood. There is something for everyone in Hamilton. A young couple where both work at minimum wage can buy a home in Hamilton, a couple working at one of Hamilton’s many hospitals can literally move into a 100 year old home with incredible charm and old beauty for around 500k more or less and live comfortably. Quality of life is good in Hamilton when a much smaller amount of your income is going towards housing. Entertainment and dining are more affordable as well.

The unemployment rate in Hamilton is 5.5% compared to Toronto at 9.5%. There are a lot of people who think Hamilton is just a steel town. Steel and manufacturing are a major part of our history, but remember Hamilton has a huge health care industry and they are always looking for new employees in every field, the hospitals are still growing and people are retiring. Hamilton Health Sciences is Hamilton’s largest employer. Because of the hospitals, they spring up lot of secondary clinics in the city and many professionals are opening up shop in Hamilton to support the growing demand the hospitals require for additional servicing; examples, bone clinics, heart clinics, rehabilitation clinics, eye clinics, etc. Hamilton has manufacturing, agriculture, huge transportation industry and many more. And we can never forget about our young self-employed sectors that are jumping all over the opportunities in Hamilton.

Keep in mind that if you are planning to purchase in Hamilton, you would be crazy to use an out of town agent. Hamilton is still experiencing growing pains and there are definitely neighbourhoods you may not want to live in. Good and bad areas can be separated by as little as one street. You want to be certain that you use a local Realtor, I have a handful of Realtors that I work with, trust and respect, and I would gladly give you their contact info.

I will be setting up a new blog just about the city of Hamilton, expanding on the points I made above as well as discussing all the great things Hamilton has to offer such as; The waterfall capital of the world, the Bruce Trail, the resources the city provides, the recreational activities available, the re-building of downtown, and much much more. I will be putting this together along with a video blog here is a cute little start. “The Sunny Side of the Street”

I would appreciate any comments good or bad, and or requests for information about Hammertown, I will search it out and find it.

Ron Miller
905-667-0699
ron.miller@butlermortgages.com

5 comments:

  1. Well Ron, you almost have me convinced. I've grown to love the west coast too much though. Good to see you doing well - come visit soon!!

    Peter Kamerman
    Nanaimo, BC

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  2. Hey Peter, hopefully by the end of the year I will make it out there, I need to visit my sister as well.

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  3. Great post, Ron. I'd love to see this kind of sell aimed at commercial areas like Barton Street that have so much potential, yet need a lot of TLC and a good vision to turn around. How do we both sell what's already good, and show the potential in what anyone driving by, would judge the rest of the street as an area to avoid and drive fast through. There is no reason why Barton Street should not be one continuous shopping district from James St North to Ottawa or Kenilworth Streets. If 'we' can sell that, than anything can be sold. I agree with you wholeheartedly. Hamilton is a city of many communities, faiths, and ethnical backgrounds. The 'old' Hamilton is certainly my favorite part of the homes in Hamilton. Mine is 60 years old and I love the character in these gems from yester year. Thanks for the Hammertown plug. Love the video by the way. Great song choice.

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  4. Thanks for your comment Lawrence. I would love to see Barton street revitalized as well. As property values start to increase and our population density rises there may be hope. Hamilton used to be our little secret. I would have a little grin when people said "ewe, you live in Hamilton". Now that the secret is out about the potential of Hamilton, people start asking questions and are really curious about our beautifull city.

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  5. Thanks!! Doing my best to keep it real.

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