With the pandemic allowing more flexible work schedules, and soaring home prices in urban centres, many continue to look for opportunities to enter the housing market in cottage country.
According to a report from Statistics Canada, from July 2019 to July 2020, Toronto saw an exodus of 50,375 people moving to other regions and provinces.
Editor for Cottage Life magazine and host of the Cottage Life podcast, Michelle Kelly says the demand for cottages increased during the pandemic.
According to a Re/Max report from 2021, 21 per cent of Canadians are looking to recreational markets after being priced out of an urban centre.
“I really believe that a lot of people turned to cottaging during the pandemic and would have previously not have considered it,” Kelly said. “They have been turned onto the lifestyle, which is a great way to connect with friends and family. It’s relaxing and makes financial sense.”
She predicts the market for cottages will remain strong as the pandemic wanes based on what realtors have told her.
Prior to the pandemic, Kelly says a lot of people were already being priced out of the city.
“We called it the ‘skip a house, buy a cottage’ trend,” she said.
And once the pandemic hit, Kelly noted people were able to look at the cottage as their primary residence, even if they had to commute to the city a few times per week.
“It (the flexible work schedule) just made cottages a more appealing option for people. In addition, it allowed people to look further afield,” she said.
The shift in buying trends has put pressure on supply in the cottage market, both for buying and renting.
“A lot of new owners who have paid premium prices have a rental income, and this has put pressure on the rental market,” she said.
Because people weren’t able to easily travel abroad over the past two summers, cottage rentals became increasingly popular. Kelly says buying a cottage is much different from buying a home.
“It’s not like you can go to one agent and that one agent can direct you,” she said. “With cottage country, it’s a huge place, so it’s good to get a look at cottage life and see what’s good for you.”
Right now, because the real estate market is so hot, Kelly recommends renting cottages in different areas, in a “try before you buy” concept.
“There’s no rush here. It’s not a great time to buy a cottage, frankly. It’s a great time to rent, and that will allow you to understand what you like and what’s important to you,” she said.
Cottage Life has partnered with VRBO to showcase cottage rental listings across Canada.
Kelly herself is a current renter and says there are now more renters in the market than those who are renting out.
“It’s a challenge. You just need to look in the right places,” she said about finding a perfect getaway space.
She recommends potential cottage buyers and renters look in remote areas for the best deals.
“The further you get from urban centres, the more you are going to be able to find a deal,” she said.
One spot she says is a good option for potential buyers to investigate is Land of Lakes, north of Belleville.
“It’s kind of a little secret to finding more value for your money. Maybe a bigger lot, a less crowded lake, you’re going to find if you go a little bit northeast in the pockets between Belleville and Algonquin Park,” she said. “You do get more mileage out of your dollar in that area.”
Kelly says not only are cottages in high demand but boats as well.
“It’s really hard to buy a boat right now. There are so many people interested,” she said, noting there was a 40 per cent increase in the issuing of boat operator cards last year.
Kelly is looking forward to speaking to cottage and outdoor enthusiasts next month at the Spring Cottage Life Show at the International Centre in Mississauga.
This will be the first in-person show in two years, after having to go virtual in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
“We are just so excited to see everyone again and meet the new cottagers,” she said.
The Spring Cottage Life Show returns to the International Centre in Mississauga from Thursday, April 7 to Sunday, April 10. There will be seminars from experts on renting out cottages, safe boating, and bunkie building.
Tickets are available at shows.cottagelife.com. This year’s Spring Cottage Life Show celebrates the 35th anniversary of the brand. It also hosted an in-person Fall Cottage Life Show event at the International Centre in November, which attracted more than 15,000 attendees across the three-day event.
The Cottage Life podcast returns for a third season in July 2022 and will be available on all podcast platforms and cottagelife.com/podcast.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
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