Home prices rose 20 per cent in Hamilton and Burlington this year

The average price of a home in Hamilton and Burlington shot up 20 per cent this year.

It's the latest milestone in a super-hot market, according to a report compiled by Re/Max Canada on 2016 housing prices.Prices inHamilton-Burlingtonrose a meager by comparison 10 per cent the year earlier, in 2015.

Hamilton-Burlington's 20 per cent rise puts it at the top of cities studied in the Re/Max report, alongsidethe Fraser Valley in B.C. The report attributes the rise to the two being "regional markets in close proximity to Canada's highest-price cities".

The estimated average price of a home in 2016 was $535,520, up from$446,961 in 2015.

• Re/Max sees average national house price rising 2% next year

Looking just atHamilton, the average price was up nearly 25 per cent in November 2016 vs. November 2015, according to numbers from thelocal realtors board, the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington.

In just Burlington, prices rose by a slightly smaller proportion:The average price of a home sold in November 2016 was 22.3 per cent higher than November 2015.

What will happen next year?

In the forecast section of the report, the real estate company expects Hamilton to be top in the country when it comes to rising prices next year, with an estimated 11 per cent gain.

But bear in mind that the company only expected a 4.3 per cent gain in 2016, and so what actually happened this year outdidthe Re/Max prediction by five times. (The forecast was also way off between 2014 and 2015.)

The market is spurring a lot of activity as officials wrap their head around decreasing affordability and pressure on renters and homebuyers.

The city is exploringwhether it makes sense to encourage more laneway housing as a way to increase affordableand sustainable housing options.

People are moving to outlying areas like St. Catharines, Port Dover and Brantford, and economists expect that migration to continue.