Ontario cottages expected to increase in price by almost 20% in 2021
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on housing markets throughout Ontario. Since it arrived last March, many have reconsidered life in the big city, and home prices in the province’s recreational regions, including Muskoka, have exploded.
According to Royal LePage and blogTO, the aggregate price of a house in Ontario’s cottage country increased by 19.4 per cent from 2019 to 2020. That growth is expected to continue this year, with the aggregate price of a house in these regions forecast to increase by another 17 per cent in 2021 – up to $547,207.
“Muskoka, like many smaller communities within a reasonable drive from the GTA, was particularly impacted by the migration out of the GTA, and by buyers who accelerated their long-term plans to purchase a second property,” said John O’Rourke, broker for Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka, in a statement.
“A scarcity of inventory added more fuel to the fire, creating competition in the market unlike anything we’ve seen before.”
According to the report, 87 per cent of recreational real estate professionals said that more than half of the properties available on the market right now are selling above asking price.
More than half of Royal LePage recreational property experts in Ontario representing buyers said their clients are making an average of four to 10 offers before transacting, and 69 per cent of those who work primarily with sellers say their clients’ properties are receiving a minimum of four offers on average.
Another 27 per cent of agents indicated that they are seeing more than 10 offers per listing.
The report explains that properties with four-season usability are particularly attractive to buyers in Ontario now, and experts expect another brisk spring market.
And while houses in Ontario’s recreational property markets are expected to see the highest price gains in the country in 2021, those in Atlantic Canada are also likely to rise by an equivalent 17 per cent this year.
Price tags are similarly rising in other provinces. Canada’s overall recreational house prices are forecast to increase by 15 per cent in 2021.
SOURCE:Ontario cottage prices expected to increase by almost 20% this year – BlogTO