The spring recreational market has been fairly quiet across Canada due to recent economic uncertainty. Cottage buyers seem to be less confident as affordability continues to be a must-have for any purchasing deals.
A Leger survey commissioned for REMAX’s 2025 Canadian Cabin and Cottage Trends Report found lower prices in 2024 fuelled interest but recent tariff threats have softened demand in many regions.
“Markets don’t like uncertainty, and we’re seeing that sentiment manifest in a quieter-than-normal spring market across recreational and traditional residential properties alike,” said Don Kottick, president of REMAX Canada. “We are optimistic that recreational activity could pick up later this season, but there’s a big ‘but’ looming. Buyers and sellers will need further clarity around Canada’s approach to tariffs now that the election is behind us, before we see a return to more normal levels of activity.”
Unit sales are not expected to decline year-over-year in most markets analyzed, ranging from flat to +10 per cent, with limited inventory impacting activity. Meanwhile, brokers and agents are anticipating a national average price increase of 1.8 per cent.
Changing sentiment around U.S. travel and heightened interest in Canadian destinations may influence the recreational property market. A Leger survey conducted in February found that 48 per cent of Canadians were less likely to travel south of the border in 2025. “As Canadians continue to show their love for local, divert U.S. travel plans and even choose to sell their recreational properties in sunny states, demand for Canada’s cottage country could increase, similar to what we saw during the pandemic,” added Kottick.
Families are the primary drivers of current recreational market activity, followed by retirees who dominated in 2018. That said, there could be significant wealth transfer that triggers more cottage inventory in the coming years, boosting affordability thresholds for many cottage and cabin hunters.
Ontario’s cottage country
Families and retirees from the Greater Toronto Area 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.
There is some instability amid growing concern from buyers and sellers on the condition of the economy in the next six to 12 months, REMAX reported. Due to concerns growing around employment and the ultimate direction of the tariff negotiations, the market is more or less paused.
Year-over-year home prices have declined across 50 per cent of recreational markets 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. Northwestern Ontario is the exception which is still experiencing low inventory.
Sixty per cent of regions are expecting prices to increase as pent-up demand 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.
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.
British Columbia
Due to short-term rental restrictions in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, as well as some parts of Ontario,19 per cent of Canadians who are selling a cabin/cottage in the next one to two years say that they no longer see the investment potential of a recreational property, which is influencing them to sell.
The average price of recreational properties in B.C. is expected to rise by 1.1 per cent in 2025. Families, millennial and Generation X couples, as well as investment buyers are driving current demand. Penticton remains a top retirement destination for local communities.
Despite short-term rental restrictions that have gone into effect, nightly rentals are still common in Whistler and Tofino/Ucluelet in specific zones. In Whistler, Phase 1 and Phase 2 condos, townhomes, and single-family homes are commonly purchased with the intent to rent. Tofino/Ucluelet continues to see interest in properties that can be used as nightly rentals, but with the zoning restrictions, inventory is not plentiful and remains competitive.
Atlantic Canada
Half of recreational markets in Atlantic Canada are experiencing seller’s market conditions, including South Shore, NS and Newfoundland & Labrador as low inventory persists. Prince Edward Island is buyer’s market as tariffs and the local community’s reliance on exports softens demand whereas Northern Nova Scotia remains balanced as inventory levels rise.
Newfoundland & Labrador and Northern Nova Scotia are expecting an increase in sale prices by 10 per cent as demand returns in the summer months. The South Shore is expecting a small increase as local and out-of-province buyers return to the market.
In Northern Nova Scotia, the non-resident deed transfer tax has deterred some buyers, but lower pressure on inventory has motivated locals to make the move for either a primary residence or recreational property in the region.
Waterfront properties remain a top choice, with retirees in Nova Scotia also looking for quiet neighbourhoods and good Wi-Fi access as they consider properties that can be lived all year. PEI is also seeing a growing number of buyers considering cottages as primary residences, specifically those want more space and access to water and parks. In Newfoundland, a quiet and close-knit community is another top consideration, especially for families looking to get away from urban centres in the warmer months.
Buyers still remain hesitant across the region. In PEI, concern for local tourism, farming and fishing is trickling into the housing market. In Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, it is still too early to see if buyer hesitancy will impact sales as the cottage season will start once the warmer weather kicks in.
