Lower interest rates that motivated recreational property buyers in the latter part of 2024 and in early 2025 have been overshadowed by more-recent economic uncertainty and tariffs finds REMAX Canada in its annual 2025 Canadian Cabin and Cottage Trends Report released today.
Ontario’s cottage country is experiencing some instability amid growing concern from buyers and sellers on the condition of the economy in the next six to 12 months. With concerns growing around employment and the ultimate direction of the tariff negotiations, the market is more or less paused.
The statistics list the Muskoka area as a buyer’s market currently, with year-end 2025 unit sales estimated to be down 2.5%.
The average price for a recreational property for Q1 of 2025 in Muskoka was $990,000, that’s an increase of 1% over the first quarter last year. Remax reports 49 sales thus far in 2025, and they predict the average price by year end to be $945,450.
Year-over-year home prices have declined across 50 per cent of recreational markets in Ontario between one to 20.3 per cent, including Niagara-on-the-Lake, Peterborough County, Northwestern Ontario, Orillia, and Grand Bend, largely due to increases in available inventory. The exception to this is Northwestern Ontario, which is still experiencing low inventory, but have seen buyer’s pause on any decisions until economic conditions improve.
Across the province, REMAX brokers are expecting prices to trend differently in 2025 from region to region as markets anticipate mixed responses from buyers. Sixty per cent of regions are expecting prices to increase as pent-up demand in these regions will place additional pressure on existing inventory while 40 per cent of regions expect price declines as inventory remains steady and more listing go onto the market in the warmer months.
Families and retirees from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) as well as locals are driving demand across all of Ontario’s recreational markets, while Northwestern Ontario is experiencing growing interest from out-of-province buyers who moved out of Ontario and are now returning to communities that are familiar to them.
Waterfront properties are in highest demand across Ontario’s recreational property market, followed by access to recreational activities such as skiing and water sports, larger lots with greenspace, and good Wi-Fi.
In Niagara-on-the-Lake, proximity to the U.S. border was once a top amenity, but has lost its lustre following trade tensions, with travel south of the border waning. The region is still expected to see strong demand as buyers look to enjoy other attractions in Ontario’s wine country.
Many cottage regions in Ontario such as Prince Edward County and Niagara-on-the-Lake are mostly primary residences, with homeowners in the region year-round. Other regions surveyed (50 per cent) have seen a growing number of families pursuing cottages as primary residences, as affordability remains a concern in Ontario and their home hunt is taking them beyond urban centres, where they feel they can get better value for their budget.
Despite the wildfires across Northern Ontario last year, wildfires are not yet a large concern for buyers. However, recent weather events such as ice storms, power failures and flooding are concerns for current homeowners and potential buyers in Orillia, impacting the locations they’re considering.
You can find the report here.
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