Prospective Cottage Buyers are Running Out of Luck

The cottage property market is seeing an increase in demand for homes and this is leading to a shortage in home types with buyers having to compete for the available homes.

This can be very well explained by Benjamin Coe who has pleasant memories of times spent during summers at the cottage. But when he was seeking for a home in Muskoka recently, he realized that there is a shortage of homes in the market.  He had intended to purchase his own cottage home around Georgian Bay.

He noted that “my grandpa will always come with us to the island and we will spend the entire time fishing in his boat.”

Recently, homes in the Waterfront have been snapped up very fast by buyers in the Honey Harbour area.  The average home price in the area has increased over 25% from the previous year to $520,000 according to the Lakeland Association of Realtors.

According to Michael Belsey of Royal LePage, there were 32 cottage properties last year when the market started and this number dropped to 16 by the end of March and presently, there are only two or three properties left.

Although there are still other properties that can be found in the area, they are however not reachable by car. The price for such properties is also below $400,000.

Most of the properties left are located on islands and are relatively cheaper compared to homes that are reachable by land, however there are very few homes left that are accessible by road.

Coe noted that even though he has a home in the city, buying a cottage or island property will serve as a getaway home from the city frenzy.

Buying an island property also comes with its benefits because the properties are always furnished as it is taken into consideration that it will be very strenuous for prospective buyers to move their belongings to the property since it is not accessible by land.