Houses are costly — but so are cottages, chalets

TORONTO First, baby boomers reaped the benefit from one of the biggest housing-price increases in the country’s history.

Now they’re driving up the cost of a country retreat, leaving millennials struggling yet again to get a foothold on the property ladder.

Prices of ski chalets, waterfront cottages and other vacation properties in Canada jumped 13 per cent to a median $460,531 in the 12 months through June, according to brokerage RE/MAX Integra in a report on Thursday.

“Baby boomers, who are entering their retirement, bought homes 30, 25-plus years ago, paid them off, and have gained tons of equity and are taking that equity out and buying second homes or are just selling their primary homes all together and buying a recreational property to retire at full time,” said Christopher Alexander, executive vice-president at real estate firm Re/max Integra.

British Columbia had the biggest jump in prices among the provinces at 19 per cent, with the cost of a waterfront property in Tofino soaring as much as 112 per cent to $1.4 million and 21 per cent in the ski resort of Whistler to $790,000.

In Ontario, prices jumped by 15 per cent, with a waterfront spread in Wasaga Beach rising 18 per cent to $950,000.

Prices on the Prairies fell four per cent from last year amid an economic slowdown and the impact of tighter mortgage-lending rules. Bloomberg