The official housing market numbers for July won't be out for a few days, but early indications show a big jump in the number of homes for sale in the Hamilton and Burlington real estate market as of early this week. It could be the first sign that provincial moves to cool the GTA and Hamilton hot housing markets are having an effect. The lower the number of listings, the more tilted the market is in favour of sellers, fostering bidding wars and higher prices. Consider the symptoms of Hamilton's overheated housing market: Bidding wars with 10-12 offers, offers coming in way over the asking price, or offers submitted with no conditions within a couple of days of the "FOR SALE" sign going up. Will buyers be so inclined to play by those "rules" if they feel they have more choices? In April, the provincial government announced measures to try to help cool Toronto's extreme housing market growth, with an additional focus on the Greater Golden Horseshoe. ...
