Market
Market
Lake of Bays Real Estate Trends | Summer 2024
Always one of the most coveted areas of Muskoka to cottage in, Lake of Bays has seen a seismic shift in real estate. Starting in May of 2020 there was an meteoric rise in both sales volumes and prices which peaked exactly one year later. Since then, as you can see by the chart to the right, cottage sales have been steadily sliding going from historic highs to lows in under 3 years. There are many factors affecting the decline in cottage sale not only on Lake of Bays but throughout Muskoka and across Ontario. You can find our complete Ontario cottage analysis here.
Take the price chart below with a grain of salt. Similar to Muskoka's "Big Three", Lake of Bays has seen the luxury real estate market stay reasonably stable which continues to skew average and median prices. For our purposes we define the luxury segment as cottages over $3,000.000. Add to that the very low sales numbers and it makes average and median price charts almost useless. As an example there were only 33 Lake of Bays cottages were sold in all of 2023 on the Lakelands Real Estate Board, a very low data set.
Average Cottage Price on Lake of Bays
Lake of Bays Waterfront Cottage Sales
Lake of Bays Waterfront Cottage Listing Volume
So what's the take-away? Basically, although somewhat insulated, Lake of Bays is not completely immune to market forces. In the broader picture, waterfront real estate is firmly in a Buyers market and trending further in that direction with every new data point. The laws of supply and demand will begin to weigh down even resellent pockets of strength. In the last couple of months listing activity has continued to rise and sales have continued to decline along with prices. My hunch is for all these trends will further escalate into the fall.
If you're selling your cottage it is imperative that you price it to the current market, not last years or even last months. There is almost 11 months of cottage inventory throughout Ontario with 100s of new listings coming on every week. If you don't price correctly you will be crushed.
Buying a cottage? Take your time, do your research and be fussy. Ask your Realtor® for the most current sales data in that area so you can make a informed decision. There are still many cottage buyers overpaying for waterfront because of inadequate market research.
Questions or comments?
Contact John Fincham, Broker
Re/Max Parry Sound Muskoka Realty Ltd. Brokerage.
