• By Mike Heddle
• Posted Tuesday, Mar 28, 2023 12:54 pm

Royal LePage's 2023 Spring Recreational Property Report

Canada’s recreational real estate rush comes to a close: Prices expected to soften amid waning activity

National aggregate house price forecast to dip 4.5% in national recreational market in 2023 as sidelined buyers wait for more inventory, economic stability

Highlights:

• The aggregate price of a single-family home in Canada’s recreational property market increased 11.7% year-over-year to $619,900 in 2022
• Nationally, the aggregate price of a single-family waterfront and condominium property increased 9.5% and 16.6% year-over-year, respectively, in 2022
• Condominiums in Quebec’s recreational property market recorded the highest provincial year-over-year aggregate price appreciation in 2022, rising 22.3%
• Alberta is the only provincial recreational market expected to see price appreciation in 2023 (+0.5%)
• Quebec and Ontario expected to see the largest recreational property price decreases in 2023, with forecasted declines of 8% and 5%, respectively, compared to 2022
• More than half (57%) of recreational property experts across the country reported lower inventory than last year in their respective regions, and 65% reported reduced inventory compared to typical pre-pandemic levels

TORONTO, ON, March 28, 2023 – According to Royal LePage, the aggregate price of a single-family home in Canada’s recreational regions is forecast to decrease 4.5 per cent in 2023 to $592,005, compared to 2022, as activity in the market wanes. This is due to reduced demand as a result of economic uncertainty and a lack of available housing stock, which has helped to keep prices stable. Despite a modest decrease expected this year, the national aggregate price would remain more than 32 per cent above 2020 levels, after two years of double-digit price gains in the country’s recreational real estate market.

With the exception of Alberta, which is expected to see a 0.5 per cent increase, all of Canada’s provincial recreational markets are forecast to see a decrease in single-family home prices in 2023. The province of Quebec is forecasting the greatest price depreciation, at -8.0 per cent.

In 2022, the aggregate price of a single-family home in Canada’s recreational property regions increased 11.7 per cent year-over-year to $619,900. This follows year-over-year price gains of 26.6 per cent in 2021. When broken out by housing type, the aggregate price of a single-family waterfront property increased 9.5 per cent year-over-year to $736,900 in 2022, and the aggregate price of a condominium rose 16.6 per cent to $432,000 during the same period.

“After two years of relentless year-round competition, Canada’s recreational property markets have slowed and returned to traditional seasonal sales patterns,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. “While interest rate hikes have less of an impact on the recreational market than homes in urban settings, because families typically put more money down and borrow less, general consumer inflation combined with a severe lack of inventory has dampened sales activity. Buyers who are active in today’s market appear willing to wait for the right property – a sharp contrast to what we experienced during...[READ MORE]