Healthy gains for recreational property prices are expected to continue for another year says Royal LePage.
Its research shows a 5% year-over-year jump in prices for spring 2019, bringing the aggregate price to $411,471 and another strong year is expected with a further 4.7% rise to $429,714.
“With the youngest baby boomers a decade away from retirement, and their older peers well on their way, we are seeing robust demand for cottage, cabin and chalet-style retirement properties,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage.
This high demand is strongest in Ontario and Quebec while the market is softening in British Columbia.
“While demand has softened across the recreational property market, low inventory has kept prices stable,” said Gregg Hart, broker and owner of Royal LePage In The Comox Valley. “Mt. Washington had a good snow year and sales on the mountain were well ahead of last year. The inventory on both Denman and Hornby Island is very low, which is pushing prices higher just as the selling season gets going.”
This softer BC market together with low inventory in Ontario has driven sales down more than 8%.
Lower sales are a feature of recreational markets across the country with Quebec the exception with a 6.3% year-over-year sales increase in single-family properties in reporting recreational communities as supply met demand.
“Young families have traditionally made up a significant portion of the demand for recreational property, as they look to create a special place for children to grow up,” Soper continued. “Today they find themselves having to compete with their parents for that spot on the water, with boomers leveraging the significant equity from their existing urban homes. In Ontario and Quebec, this has resulted in exceptional demand and upward pressure on prices. In Western Canada, it has supported demand and stabilized prices.”
