A report from a leading real estate company says cottage prices and sales declined this spring in Peterborough and Kawarthas.
The 2023 Re/Max Cottage Trends report shows through the first quarter of 2023, the average cottage sale price in the region fell by 31 per cent compared to the same period in 2022 — from $1,243,442 to $855,858.
Overall, sales for the first quarter from 2021 to 2022 are down nearly 50 per cent from 62 in 2022 to 32 so far in 2023.
Terry Rees, executive director of the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Association, says the COVID-19 pandemic saw Peterborough and the Kawarthas become a hot commodity for waterfront properties and working-from-home scenarios.
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“A lot of people moved out of the city because they could work from the lake, or they could afford to live here, or just for a quality of life or as a response to the pandemic and just needing to get the heck out of town,” he said.
Now the data shows the same region among the hardest hit across Canada for price drops.
Rising interest and mortgage rates are likely contributing to the impact on cottage prices and sales, Re/Max notes.
However, Frank Rosso, with Peterborough-based Re/Max Hallmark Eastern Realty, doesn’t believe there will be much impact on cottages in the region.
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“I believe that most of the people that are living on the waterfront, that’s pretty much their second residence,” he said. “And they have that extra cash flow in order to be on that waterfront, to be able to afford it.”
Rosso argues his statistics show little change in the market, saying prices are only down about 11 per cent. Instead he says a more noticeable change will be hold long properties remain on the market.
“Stats speak for themselves — we do have more listings now than we did before, which gives people the advantage of being able to get out to buy something and not do it in a hurry,” he said.
Real estate company Royal LePage does not provide specific forecast for sales in the region but says the average cottage in Peterborough County rose by 11.6 per cent from $645,000 in 2021 to $719,900 in 2022. Waterfront properties saw an average of $1,005,000 in 2022.
The realtor also listed average cottage prices in the City of Kawartha Lakes at $747,900 in 2022 — down 2.2 per cent from $764,400 a year earlier. However, an average waterfront property fetched over $980,700 in 2022
— with files from Robert Lothian/Global News Peterborough and The Canadian Press
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