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June 29th, 2005, 03:10 AM
Cottage prices ease in Ontario
By TAVIA GRANT
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 Updated at 8:29 AM EDT
Globe and Mail Update
Buyers looking for the perfect summer cottage can breath a little easier, at least as long as they're not shopping on British Columbia's Salt Spring Island.
Price appreciation for recreational properties eased this year in Ontario, but the climb continues in Alberta and British Columbia, real-estate company Re/Max said Tuesday.
It surveyed almost 50 vacation areas across Canada and found, overall, that the price climb has eased in about a third of those markets. In almost half of Ontario markets, including Muskoka, waterfront property values have moderated or stalled, the report said.
“Only Western Canada noted unabated price appreciation,” said Michael Polzler, executive vice-president and regional director of Re/Max Ontario-Atlantic Canada, adding that “after years of unprecedented escalation in sales and prices in Ontario, recreational markets are finally settling into a more sustainable level of activity.”
In the Atlantic Canada especially, inventory levels are creeping up and keeping price appreciation in check.
The most popular cottages are more affordable properties, priced from $150,000 to $300,000. Thus conditions are tightest in markets with a good selection of affordable properties such as Nova Scotia's South Shore, Lunenberg, Prince Edward Island's Summerside, Ontario's Parry Sound, Huntsville, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Haliburton, Honey Harbour, Port Severn, Flesherton, Bancroft, East Kawarthas, Prince Edward County, and Pembroke, Saskatchewan's Prince Albert, Alberta's West of Edmonton, and British Columbia's Sunshine Coast and South Cariboo Area, Re/Max said.
More than a third — 36 per cent — of all Canadian markets have properties priced at $200,000 or less.
In Western Canada, sales of luxury recreational properties are rising, buoyed by Alberta's booming economy. Recreational property values surpassed $1-million for a three-bedroom, waterfront home in two markets, Whistler and Salt Spring Island, while five have now topped $500,000 threshold.
“Alberta's thriving oil-based economy has undoubtedly bolstered recreational property sales in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta,” said Elton Ash, regional vice president of Re/Max of Western Canada.
Moreover, prices are expected to extend gains in the months to come.
“The consumer appetite for upscale properties continues to climb, whether for lakefront properties or mountain retreats. Demand now outpaces supply of recreational properties in the vast majority of western markets, threatening further price appreciation in the months ahead.”
By TAVIA GRANT
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 Updated at 8:29 AM EDT
Globe and Mail Update
Buyers looking for the perfect summer cottage can breath a little easier, at least as long as they're not shopping on British Columbia's Salt Spring Island.
Price appreciation for recreational properties eased this year in Ontario, but the climb continues in Alberta and British Columbia, real-estate company Re/Max said Tuesday.
It surveyed almost 50 vacation areas across Canada and found, overall, that the price climb has eased in about a third of those markets. In almost half of Ontario markets, including Muskoka, waterfront property values have moderated or stalled, the report said.
“Only Western Canada noted unabated price appreciation,” said Michael Polzler, executive vice-president and regional director of Re/Max Ontario-Atlantic Canada, adding that “after years of unprecedented escalation in sales and prices in Ontario, recreational markets are finally settling into a more sustainable level of activity.”
In the Atlantic Canada especially, inventory levels are creeping up and keeping price appreciation in check.
The most popular cottages are more affordable properties, priced from $150,000 to $300,000. Thus conditions are tightest in markets with a good selection of affordable properties such as Nova Scotia's South Shore, Lunenberg, Prince Edward Island's Summerside, Ontario's Parry Sound, Huntsville, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Haliburton, Honey Harbour, Port Severn, Flesherton, Bancroft, East Kawarthas, Prince Edward County, and Pembroke, Saskatchewan's Prince Albert, Alberta's West of Edmonton, and British Columbia's Sunshine Coast and South Cariboo Area, Re/Max said.
More than a third — 36 per cent — of all Canadian markets have properties priced at $200,000 or less.
In Western Canada, sales of luxury recreational properties are rising, buoyed by Alberta's booming economy. Recreational property values surpassed $1-million for a three-bedroom, waterfront home in two markets, Whistler and Salt Spring Island, while five have now topped $500,000 threshold.
“Alberta's thriving oil-based economy has undoubtedly bolstered recreational property sales in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta,” said Elton Ash, regional vice president of Re/Max of Western Canada.
Moreover, prices are expected to extend gains in the months to come.
“The consumer appetite for upscale properties continues to climb, whether for lakefront properties or mountain retreats. Demand now outpaces supply of recreational properties in the vast majority of western markets, threatening further price appreciation in the months ahead.”