Autumn and winter can be ideal times to buy or sell

Ah, there’s nothing like kicking back at the cottage. Invite a few friends, grab a few brews and head out to a peaceful lake or seaside lot to hang out on the deck, at the dock or down on the beach.

Life at the cottage is East Coast summertime nirvana, and you want some of that. So, is this necessarily the best time of year to shop for your little piece of heaven? We asked folks in the know for their insider tips on the current East Coast cottage market. Here’s what they told us.

For the past two decades, Bert Price, a real estate agent with Tradewinds Realty, has been the go-to guy for cottage sales in central Nova Scotia. “I’ve walked and sold properties on 50 or more lakes.” He says buyers are outnumbering sellers over the past several years. Price believes government instituted mortgage changes spooked buyers. “The stress test is certainly affecting a number of people.” Still, says Price, this year was different. “People are snapping them up again. We’re chugging along.”

In PEI, Brad Oliver, president of Brad Oliver Realty, looks back even further. “The current cottage market is stronger than it has been since 2007 when there was a real downturn in the market.” Oliver sees a new confidence in those looking for recreational property. “A good deal of this comes from young Atlantic Canadians, returning east with money earned abroad.”

Lake frontage in the Woodstock area of New Brunswick is skyrocketing, according to Kerry Culberson, broker owner of Exit Realty Platinum. She’s seeing good demand. “The lower priced cottages go a little faster just because more people can afford them.”

It’s a different story throughout Newfoundland where Krista Trask, an agent with Century 21 Seller’s Choice in St. John’s, says the recent downturn in her province’s economy has divided the market into two distinct groups: those pinched by decreased income and higher living costs who are looking for less expensive properties for fishing or snowmobiling, and the 50-plus buyer. “People are retiring into their cabin.” Newfoundlanders refer to cabins rather than cottages. “They’re beefing it up, putting a better bathroom in or upgrading the kitchen,” Trask says.To this older buyer, “Fishing communities are becoming cabin country. You’re an hour outside town, next to the water, you can use your boat. You can pick up a home for a good price and still have the small town feel.”

 

Time of year

While the experts agree that the cottage market is strong right now, they disagree about the best time of year for buyers to jump into the market. Brad Oliver on PEI says, “Vendors are more anxious to sell prior to winter.” He adds that buying in autumn gives new owners time to prepare the property for use the following spring.

All those consulted agreed with Kelly Culberson that, “Most people list their cottage in the spring or summer.” However, she thinks that’s more out of habit than any other factor.

“It’s surprising because years ago, you’re finished in November,” says Bert Price. “Now, in the winter we sell a few.”

“It’s definitely a year-round purchase,” says Culberson. “A lot of people are buying them to use all year, in the summer for boating and swimming, but also for hunting, fishing, snowmobiling and skating. People assume that sales don’t happen in the winter, so they take their properties off the market or choose not to list them during the winter months.” But, she says, “Sales definitely do happen in winter.

Bert Price disagrees. “Most of my cottages are off the market in mid-December. It’s difficult to take you there in January to show you a house where the heat hasn’t been on for a while, the power and water are off.” He says a few people do that. “But once winter rolls around, I can tell you underneath this two feet of snow, there’s a beautiful sand beach; you’ll see it in May.”

Kelly Culberson says there are ways around that problem. “It seems everyone loves to take photos of cottages in the summer months, so we can usually get current photography. And being from the area, our knowledge is fairly good about the lakes and the frontage, so we’re able to guide clients.”

Krista Trask takes a different approach in her eastern Newfoundland market. She advises many of her clients to keep their cottage on the market after Christmas. “Put up your cabin,” she says, “because people thinking about vacationing and summertime will book and plan months ahead. If you can beat the surge of cottages in the spring market, people are going to be searching online prior to going out to look.”

Furthermore, says Trask, winter is the time for deals. “There could be an opportunity to grab a nice property at a good price. In winter, you have more motivated sellers despite the type of property, because most people don’t want to move in winter. If they do move, they’re obviously motivated. I always tell buyers it’s a fantastic market.”