Just in time for the summer vacation period, a new report finds cottage sales and prices booming in many areas of Ontario, with double-digit increases in multiple markets.
RE/MAX’s national Recreational Property Survey for 2017 shows the increase in cottage prices in some areas of Ontario even beating out those in hot urban markets like Toronto. In Prince Edward Country, for example, the median price of waterfront property shot up 38.5 per cent from 2015-16 to 2016-17, soaring from $415,000 to $575,000.
Nearer to Ottawa, the median price of a waterfront property in the Rideau Lakes region rose by more than 17 per cent to $452,000 in the same period. The area also saw Ontario’s biggest percentage increase in the number of sales: 129.55 per cent year over year.
Sales need context
Rob Garvin, who sells recreational property in the Rideau Lakes region through RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., cautions that reports of cottage sales and prices booming have to be seen in the context of the relatively slow stretch preceding the jump.
However, he agrees that the market has picked up substantially. “The big one would be baby boomers, people getting set to retire in the next three to five years. They may be from around here originally and looking to come back from Toronto to retire or they’re from the City of Ottawa and want somewhere to spend their summers and get back to the city for the winter months.”
That accords with the survey’s finding that many regions had an increased demand from buyers leaving high-priced areas such as the Greater Toronto Area or B.C.’s Lower Mainland.
Adding amenities
He expects the demand for recreational property around the Rideau Lakes to stay healthy, adding that money has been invested in restaurants and other amenities, making the region even more of a draw.
Prospective buyers are clear on what they want, he says: Cottages that have character, are low-maintenance, and not located on a long “cottage road.”
The RE/MAX survey also found that young families are looking for unique ways to finance the purchase of recreational properties as the market sees cottage sales and prices booming. For example, over one-quarter would consider selling their primary residence in the city to pay for a cottage or similar property. Others were looking at buying with a friend or family member.
Who’s buying
A separate survey found that young families and retirees were the key drivers of demand for recreational properties across Canada. The RE/MAX report notes that the high price retirees and boomers nearing retirement can get for their homes in cities like Toronto is inspiring many of them to sell and put the money into recreational property. That in turn has spiked the price of popular recreational properties in areas such as Haliburton.
The most expensive recreational properties in the national survey were in North Okanagan, BC. There, the median price of a waterfront property for the 2016-17 period was a cool $1.295 million.
