RE/MAX Imperial Realty Inc., Brokerage
Hamilton
Steel in its bones, waterfalls in its backyard — Hamilton sits at the western end of Lake Ontario, the largest of our nine cities by area and the most affordable place to buy a home.
Hamilton sits at the western end of Lake Ontario and had 569,353 residents in the 2021 census. It made its name in steel — "Steel City" is its long-standing nickname. In 2001 the old City of Hamilton merged with five surrounding municipalities — Ancaster, Dundas, Stoney Creek, Flamborough and Glanbrook — to form the present-day city, 1,118 square kilometres in all. The Niagara Escarpment runs through the middle of the city, and where streams pour over its edge they form more than a hundred waterfalls; as the city itself puts it, that is how Hamilton came to be called the Waterfall Capital of the World.
Overview
The escarpment splits Hamilton into two levels. The lower city by the lake is the old core — downtown, the hospitals and the shopping streets are all here — while the "Mountain" above the escarpment is mostly newer residential areas. The port runs along the city's north edge, and the steel mills along the shore are the industrial backdrop the city grew up with. The merged towns each kept their own character, which makes the city unusually spread out: lakefront, downtown and escarpment-top farmland all sit inside one municipal boundary.
Nature is the city's other side. The Hamilton Conservation Authority manages more than a dozen conservation areas; Webster Falls and Tew Falls drop through the Spencer Gorge above Dundas, and the Dundas Valley trail network runs to more than 40 kilometres. Population rose by more than 30,000 between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, up 6.0% — steady growth (see Chart C2).
Neighbourhoods
Westdale
The village-style community around McMaster University's main campus — older homes, cafés and small shops
Detached, condos
Durand
An old residential area just south of downtown, with well-kept 19th-century stone homes and a national historic site
Detached, rowhouses, condos
Ancaster
A former town merged into Hamilton in 2001; its old village core survives, with established family neighbourhoods around it, next to the Dundas Valley Conservation Area
Detached, townhomes
Dundas
A former town tucked into the valley below the escarpment; an intact historic main street, with the Spencer Gorge waterfalls and trails just north
Detached, townhomes
Stoney Creek
The former city at the lake's east end; the Confederation GO station, opened in 2025, and the lakefront beach park are in this part of town
Detached, townhomes, condos
Waterdown
A village community from the former Flamborough; the old village character is protected while the population grows and new subdivisions go up around it
Detached, townhomes
Schools & transit
Schools.Four boards run Hamilton's publicly funded schools. The English public board, HWDSB, has about 50,000 students in 80 elementary and 13 secondary schools. The Catholic board, HWCDSB, runs 49 elementary and 7 secondary schools, including Cathedral and St. Thomas More. The French public board (Viamonde) and French Catholic board (MonAvenir) also have schools in the city. For post-secondary, McMaster University's main campus is in Westdale — founded in 1887, moved to Hamilton in 1930, with about 37,000 students — and Mohawk College's three main campuses are all in Hamilton, serving more than 30,000 students. School catchments are set by the boards and change from time to time, so check any specific address with the board before you buy.
Getting around.Most commuters use the GO train on the Lakeshore West line, and Hamilton has three stations. Hamilton GO Centre, downtown, is the hub for peak-hour express trains and GO buses; West Harbour GO sits just north of downtown; and Confederation GO, opened in October 2025, serves the east end and the Stoney Creek area. Trains run through to Toronto's Union Station — check the GO Transit schedule for times. The city's own bus system is the HSR, run by the City of Hamilton. Drivers have the QEW and Highway 403, and the city also has its own international airport.
Market data
September 2026 · updated monthly with the market report
Source: Cornerstone Association of REALTORS®. These figures come from the same batch as this month's market report and are updated monthly. Hamilton is not covered by TRREB, so its numbers are not directly comparable with the TRREB-based cities. Two more figures: the median price was $640,000, and inventory stood at about 4.8 months. Dividing the month's sales by its new listings gives a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 35.4% — a simple one-month calculation, different from TRREB's 12-month trend figure, and shown for reference only.
Cornerstone's published summary does not break down sales counts by these four types; it publishes broad categories only — of the city's 376 sales, 270 were single-family homes and 106 were townhouses and condos combined. This chart shows average prices only, with no per-type counts.
The month in one line: A buyer's market. Sales fell by more than a fifth from a year ago — the steepest drop among the nine cities — prices are lower than last year too, and buyers have time to look around.
For the full monthly picture — the breakdown by home type and how inventory is moving — see the Hamilton section of the market report. See the market report