Neighboring Markets Receive Spillovers from Toronto and Vancouver

The hot housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver are spilling over to neighboring markets and cottage country a recent report from Royal LePage indicated.

This however is a much expected scenario as many people moving away from the sizzling hot Canadian markets are searching in neighboring markets that are more affordable.

On Tuesday, the 2017 Royal LePage Canadian Recreational Housing Reports indicated that a similar competitive trend present in the Vancouver and Toronto housing market are popping up into recreational properties.

According to Kevin Somers, chief operating officer at Royal LePage Real Estate Services Limited, in recent months, there has been an increase in sales activities and also on the prices of properties in several cottage communities in Ontario and British Columbia. This increase is mostly fueled by high housing activities in hot housing market such as Toronto and Vancouver.

As the home prices in these markets continue to rise, many home buyers are looking for other affordable properties and recreational properties have been attracting a lot of buyers. Many people are also buying recreational properties for future use or to downsize when they retire.

In a survey conducted by Royal LePage, it was discovered that majority of recreation property specialists across the housing market noted that they are anticipating an increase in sales for this year.

During the first quarter of the year, the Canadian recreation property market had a great start with property markets across the nation showing impressive growth rates in both prices and sales. According to Somers, this trend is expected to continue throughout the year and the coming weather conditions are expected to play a role in the market as it will help to moderate the new listings entering the market.

In May, the average price for a recreational property was at $439,000 with Alberta recording the highest prices gains as the area experiences a shortage in property. Royal LePage also noted that New Brunswick recorded the lowest average property price.

It was also revealed that foreign investors play a very little role in the recreational property market with less than 5% sales to foreign buyers.