Ontarians aren’t buying cottages (even though prices have plateaued)
Even if summer weather calls for decompressing in front of a lake (that is, one that’s out of earshot from the Gardiner Expressway), Ontario’s cottage market is lagging. Royal LePage just issued a report on the recreational property market that says a whopping 59 per cent of Ontarians who planned to buy a cottage have postponed the decision because of global economic uncertainty. With the slower demand, and an abundance of supply coming from baby boomers who no longer want their vacation homes now that their children have grown up, prices have plateaued—although waterfront properties under $400,000 and over $1 million are still attracting buyers. But cottage lovers who don’t want to take the plunge into ownership can always rent—and may want to check out twohoursnorth.com, a new Toronto-based site that lists rental cottages by travel time so they’ll know exactly how long they’ll be stuck in traffic before arriving lakeside. [Toronto Star]
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Even if summer weather calls for decompressing in front of a lake (that is, one that’s out of earshot from the Gardiner Expressway), Ontario’s cottage market is lagging. Royal LePage just issued a report on the recreational property market that says a whopping 59 per cent of Ontarians who planned to buy a cottage have postponed the decision because of global economic uncertainty. With the slower demand, and an abundance of supply coming from baby boomers who no longer want their vacation homes now that their children have grown up, prices have plateaued—although waterfront properties under $400,000 and over $1 million are still attracting buyers. But cottage lovers who don’t want to take the plunge into ownership can always rent—and may want to check out twohoursnorth.com, a new Toronto-based site that lists rental cottages by travel time so they’ll know exactly how long they’ll be stuck in traffic before arriving lakeside. [Toronto Star]){kind=link}
Nice commercial for two hours north.
Renting a cottage makes a lot of sense. Owning one is expensive both in the purchase and the maintenance, and there are taxes.
Why in the world would anyone want to buy a cottage? You’re committed to spending every summer weekend there, you attract freeloaders and have to rub elbows with locals at the Beer Store. EEEEW. I hate watching some guy in a sleeve-less lumber jack coat haul off a 24 of Laker Strong while I’m waiting for Sleeman Lager.
You couldn’t pay me to sit in that 400 traffic for hours on a Friday night, just to be surrounded by the same jerks from the same city, and then sit in traffic for hours on Sunday again to get home.
There are always those who assume cottage country is straight North. Think outside the box cause the 400 is too much trouble. There are lovely areas not directly north.