Looking to buy a cottage this summer? Here’s where prices are dropping

Cottage prices are cooling down across Canada, but sticky inflation and soaring interest rates are dampening plans for first-time buyers, real estate experts say.

As the weather heats up in Canada, cottages prices are cooling down, but sticky inflation and soaring interest rates are dampening plans for prospective first-time buyers, real estate experts say.

With the Bank of Canada increasing its key interest rate again this week, and future hikes not off the table, should you consider jumping into the cottage market this summer?

Even though the demand is still there, first-time cottage buyers have “stepped to the sidelines” as owners try to keep their vacation homes in the family, said Christopher Alexander, president of ReMax Canada.

“(In) the current interest rate environment, affordability has really changed for a lot of people,” he said in an interview with Global News.

“However, we’re still seeing multiple offers in a lot of parts of Ontario and even in western Canada on properties that are priced really well.”

A recent survey by ReMax looking at the cottage trends across the country found that 69 per cent of Canadians were hesitant to invest in a cottage due to economic uncertainty.

This is despite the fact that prices have already dipped and are expected to continue going south in many parts of Canada.

Royal LePage expects the aggregate price of a single-family home in Canada’s recreational regions to see a “modest” decrease of 4.5 per cent this year to $592,005.