Millennials setting their sights on owning summer cottages
Millennials want to own lakefront property, and they’re willing to resort to more creative means to afford it.
A recent survey conducted by Leger and released in a report by RE/MAX found that 65 per cent of Canadian respondents in the millennial age group (ages 18-34) would want to purchase recreational property within the next 10 years.
Wally Lorenz, a RE/MAX agent in the Battlefords, said he doesn’t see a lot of young families out looking at property. He pointed to the economic struggles of recent years — including the oil market recession that pushed companies to lay off hundreds of workers — as the reason the millennial generation may be struggling to afford a home away from home.
“The young people here, they were coming from the oilfield. They were making good money,” Lorenz said. “There are still a few around, but not like it was for a number of years.”
The survey also found almost a third of respondents who already own property in a city would be willing to sell in order to finance a recreational property; 42 per cent of millennial respondents said they would be willing to purchase property with a family member to help offset costs.
“I guess what the survey is telling us is that millennials are a little more open-minded about the way they can get into ownership,” said Elton Ash, regional executive vicepresident of RE/MAX Western Canada.
There are more instances of “fractional ownership” among younger buyers, as well, Ash said. About a fifth of millennial survey respondents said they would consider purchasing fractional ownership, and only slightly less said they would look into purchasing property with a friend.
It’s partly thanks to the connectivity of the Internet and remote jobs that the younger generation is more willing to get recreational property, Ash said. He admitted baby boomers have long been the main buyers of cabin and cottage properties, noting they’re now capitalizing on selling their homes in big markets like Vancouver.
Millennials getting into recreational property ownership is a “truly Canadian phenomenon,” Ash said.
“What this continues to show us is that Canadians have a great love affair with the great outdoors, and we enjoy our short summers to the maximum that we can.”