Photo: Rick Cordeiro · Public domain64% of Central’s homes are apartments, against 13% for Ontario’s towns
The middle home was worth $580,000 at the 2021 census, the average $581,064. The census asks owners what their home would sell for, so the values are estimates from May 2021. What homes sold for in Central isn’t public: no sale figures are released in Ontario.
Two ways to price a home in Central
Two sources, each set against Ontario’s towns only: provinces measure value differently, so they don’t line up across borders. MPAC hasn’t reassessed since its 1 January 2016 values, which is why the figure sits well under the census value; it compares only within Ontario.
median, owners’ estimate
- Average
- $581K
- Owners
- 470
- Ontario’s towns
- $695K
- The typical Canadian town
- $406K
all residential, MPAC 2016 base
- Ontario’s towns
- $232K
Census 2021 (Statistics Canada); Canadian Housing Statistics Program, tables 46-10-0099 and 46-10-0093; Québec rôle d’évaluation foncière 2026 (MAMH). · Measured across the city of Hamilton: assessed values, values by property type and building permits
Houses in Hamilton carry assessments 52% over the middle of Ontario’s towns
The 2024 assessment roll counts 178,695 homes in Hamilton: detached houses make 71% of them, condos 6%.
Median assessment by type, 2024 the tick is the median of Ontario’s towns
Canadian Housing Statistics Program, table 46-10-0093 (2024): residential properties on the assessment roll, vacant land left out. The ticks are the median of Ontario’s towns with their own figure; assessments compare within a province only.
More need than most: 29% of households in Central (Ontario’s towns: 9%)
Central had 1,695 occupied homes at the 2021 census. Half or more were standing by 1980. A neighbourhood’s counts are summed from small census areas, so its parts can fall a little short of the whole.
Homes by period of construction the tick is the median of Ontario’s towns
Homes by kind
| Central | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condominiums | 9% | 7% | 8% |
| Needing major repairs | 10% | 6% | 6% |
| Too small for the household | 9% | 5% | 3% |
| Households in core housing need | 29% | 9% | 7% |
Census 2021 (Statistics Canada): occupied private dwellings; core housing need as Statistics Canada defines it. Ticks and columns are medians of the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more.
Permits in Hamilton ran at 16 homes a year per 1,000, near the 15 of Ontario’s towns
Building permits added 20,374 homes in Hamilton between 2018 and 2023: some 3,396 a year. Very few were houses: 15% in single-unit buildings (Ontario’s towns: 66%).
Most in 2023: 5,130 new homes
New homes a year per 1,000 homes
3,048 new homes in the 12 months to August 2026, up 8% on the year before
Statistics Canada, tables 46-10-0087 (building permits by census subdivision, 2018–2023: dwelling units created, new construction and conversions) and 34-10-0292 (monthly, metro areas). Per 1,000: units a year over 2019–2023 against occupied homes in 2021. · Area behind the monthly permits figures: the Hamilton metro area
Central is cheaper than most of Ontario’s towns: 17% under their $695,000 median
The census values of Ontario’s towns, 871 of them with 2,500+ people, from dearest to cheapest.
Census 2021, owners’ estimates; towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, no city as a whole, no reserve.
Cheaper next to Central: Durand, Beasley and Corktown
Next to Central: 2021 census values and the share of owners.
| Town | Median home value | Average | Owners | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | $580K | $581K | 28% | |
| Strathcona | $600K | $607K | 44% | 1 |
| North End East | $592K | $591K | 55% | 1.2 |
| Durand | $448K | $682K | 19% | 1.2 |
| Beasley | $500K | $554K | 19% | 1.2 |
| Corktown | $400K | $467K | 19% | 1.6 |
| Kirkendall North | $700K | $744K | 49% | 1.7 |
Census 2021 values; km.
Questions about property prices in Central
Is Central expensive for Ontario?
Cheaper than the middle: Ontario’s towns come to $695,000, Central to less.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · Statistics Canada, Canadian Housing Statistics Program · Statistics Canada, building permits (tables 46-10-0087 and 34-10-0292). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).