Bucking the Trend: Ontario’s Cottage Prices Dip 5%, But Our Region Remains Strong

Cottage prices across Ontario have been dropping, but the industry remains healthy in our neck of the woods.

While a study by Royal Lepage shows a 5% dip in the price of cottages and lake-homes, Century 21 Synergy Realty’s Scott Sommerville told Lake 88’s In Focus, that sales remain strong in our region. He looked at numbers from June of 2022 until June of 2023.

 

 

As for price, Sommerville says the bottom line remains healthy despite any dips. He used Rideau Lakes as an example.

 

Sommerville says there are a wide variety of cottages in the area, from smaller three season offerings to large four season homes, and they are priced accordingly from a few hundred thousand dollars to well over a million dollars and more.

His sales numbers focus on a broad-range search which centers on Lanark County and extends in a radius from Arnprior down to Sharbot Lake. It includes large and small lakes which Sommerville says gives a better idea of the overall market in our backyard.

The renowned realtor says numbers over the past half-decade around here, are strong.

 

That anomaly would be when more of the province re-opened after the Pandemic eased its grip on our summer leisure time. Fewer people got into the cottage and lake-home market as a result, especially from outside the region. That is a major factor in the price decline.

So, what’s the reason that our sales remain healthy? How about proximity. Sommerville says getting to the properties in our listening area is just easier, when you compare it to heading to a cottage from the GTA.

 

We also draw from the Ottawa Valley, Brockville, and along the St. Lawrence Seaway. And yes, there are people from the GTA who return every year to enjoy what we have to offer, which Sommerville says is second to none and the ultimate selling too.

 

Want to know more? You can listen to the entire interview with Scott Sommerville by tapping or clicking this text block.