IF SOMEONE HAD told you in late 2019 that a virus first spotted in China would create unprecedented demand for cottage real estate in Canada, would you have believed them? Because that’s what we saw: a mass exodus north during the pandemic. From 2020 to 2022, cottage prices across the country jumped an eye-popping 39 per cent, with waterfront properties reaching an aggregate price of $736,900, up from $498,111, according to Royal LePage.
Limited inventory sparked bidding wars that sent prices well over asking. Buyers snapped up properties without setting foot on them, foregoing home inspections to make offers more appealing. And cottage rentals were booked 365 days a year. It was a good time to be a cottage owner.
But then the fog of the pandemic cleared. Offices recalled employees to the city. Reopened borders offered alternative vacation destinations. And the global supply chain, which was rocked by labour shortages during the pandemic, caused a steady uptick in inflation, peaking at a 39-year high of 8.1 per cent in Canada on June 1, 2022. To wrestle the economy back to a manageable state, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates to five per cent early this summer, where they’ve
