Grand Bend Cottage Market Trends (2023)

The Grand Bend cottage market is currently experiencing balanced conditions, with steady inventory and well-priced properties garnering lots of attention. Since 2022, conditions have shifted from a seller’s market, toward balance and even swinging toward a buyer’s market. Days on market have increased and inventory has remained about the same, but longer days on market have created the appearance of more inventory and more options. Demand is still strong for properties that are accurately priced.

Grand Bend Cottage Market Insights

Average recreational sale price in the region declined 17 per cent (from $1,095,608 in Q1 2022, to $912,135 in Q1 2023). Sales have also decreased by 31.5 per cent, from 38 unit sales in Q1 2022 to 26 sales in Q1 2023. Looking ahead, prices are expected to remain steady for the remainder of 2023, and sales could decrease by 10 per cent.

Higher interest rates have prompted some recreational buyers to put their purchase on hold or to lower their price point. Most buyers in the market are retirees and investors coming from local city markets such as London, Kitchener- Waterloo and the Greater Toronto Area. In-demand features include access to recreational activities and the lake, a waterfront location and larger properties with plenty of outdoor space. A new trend forming in the market is co-ownership between families or friends, to make the cottage purchase more affordable.

“Rising interest rates and the price point of recreational markets have made it harder for typical Canadians to afford a secondary home,” says broker Mark Pedlar of RE/MAX Bluewater Realty. “The cost of borrowing has gone up, such that they can no longer afford to enjoy the cottage. For consumers looking at moving to the area, the goal has always been to sell at a higher price in the city and downsize in a recreational market, but with rising interest rates, and cooling prices in the city not exactly on par with cooling in the local market, this doesn’t make the move as appealing.”

Despite the Foreign Buyer Ban not being applicable to recreational regions, it has created confusion in the local market about who can and cannot buy a property, as well as decreasing foreign buyer interest. “Thankfully, our market is not 30 per cent American buyers like it once was, but we still do have Americans who buy cottages here,” adds Pedlar. “They don’t understand the foreign buyer ban, so they have stopped looking. They are shocked when we explain that they are still able to purchase but are hesitant to follow through in case the ban expands or something was overlooked. There’s not enough information to support the purchase online from the government but lots of information to discourage the purchase.”

With approximately 900,000 Baby Boomers expected to retire within the next three years, the Grand Bend cottage market is expected to see increased demand from retirees, as well as family planning when purchasing recreational properties.

At the same time, $1 trillion is expected to transfer from Baby Boomers to succeeding generations in the coming years, which could create another shift in recreational ownership to a younger generation seeking investment opportunities.