Looking to buy a winter home? Here’s where prices have dropped in Canada
If you’re looking to buy a winter home, it might be a good time to enter the cooling market with prices dipping and inventory rising in some of Canada’s popular ski regions.
Nationally, the median price of a single-family detached home in the winter recreational market went down 0.7 per cent in the first 10 months of 2023 compared with last year, according to a Royal LePage report published Wednesday.
In 2023, the median price of a single-family detached home in that market was an estimated $1,068,200.
Demand for winter recreational properties has cooled down this year, largely due to high interest rates, the rising cost of living and uncertainty about the economy, Royal LePage said in its Winter Recreational Property Report.
Since March 2022, the Bank of Canada has hiked its interest rate 10 times but has held it steady the last two decisions. The central bank’s final rate decision of the year is slated to come on Dec. 6.
Pauline Aunger, broker of record at Royal LePage Advantage Real Estate, said there has been a “softening” of the winter recreational market and the interest rates have had a “big effect” on buyer decisions, with Canadians playing a “wait-and-see game” across the country.
However, she said it’s a “great time to jump into the market” amid an increase in inventory.
“This is a great time to go out looking for the perfect winter recreational property and having the luxury of seeing a few more listings than you would have even two years ago,” Aunger told Global News in an interview.
Four in 10 (41 per cent) of Royal LePage’s recreational property market experts reported an increase in inventory as a direct result of rising interest rates.
Non-economic factors have also had an impact on demand.
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