Denise Johnston, a real estate agent based in the Ottawa Valley, says the desire to live in rural areas is starting to subside.
“People that did move out to the country have maybe now spent a good year, including a winter, looking at what’s involved in living out in the country,” Johnston told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday.
Some of the challenges Johnston said cottage-life entails include septic systems, wells, travel on snow-covered roads, and wear and tear on vehicles. In addition, she said, with back-to-work mandates some may not be able to work remotely anymore.
“I think within the next year is when we’re going to start to see people heading back towards the city,” Johnston said. “Especially when they do have to come back to work.”
A report by Royal LePage released on March 28, expects the aggregate price of a single-family home in Canada’s recreational housing market to fall 4.5 per cent to $592,005 this year compared to 2022.
This drop, Johnston says, is impacting her clients selling their properties.
For people looking to make the switch from city to country living, Johnston says making sure they understand the differences is important.
“They need to think about things like cell phone service,” she said. “When I take a client out to a cottage I always say to them ‘Pull your cell phone out, look at how many bars you’ve got.’ Because the provider that you’re with now may not be the best one out here.”
To hear more about cottage life and real estate tips, click the video at the top of this article.
TORONTO – Ontario is pushing through several bills with little or no debate, which the government house leader says is due to a short legislative sitting.
The government has significantly reduced debate and committee time on the proposed law that would force municipalities to seek permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a car lane.
It also passed the fall economic statement that contains legislation to send out $200 cheques to taxpayers with reduced debating time.
The province tabled a bill Wednesday afternoon that would extend the per-vote subsidy program, which funnels money to political parties, until 2027.
That bill passed third reading Thursday morning with no debate and is awaiting royal assent.
Government House Leader Steve Clark did not answer a question about whether the province is speeding up passage of the bills in order to have an election in the spring, which Premier Doug Ford has not ruled out.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
