2020 in Cottage Country, and Muskoka in particular was a red hot real estate market. Prices for both residential and recreational (waterfront) properties soared as high as 30% above 2019 pricing, with buyers competing over the limited listings. People from the GTA and other urban centres wanted their piece of waterfront, acreage or small-town life, and some were willing to pay lots for it! We had bidding wars on average cottage properties, multiple offers on vacant land, and holding offers for 3-5 days was the norm for listings in 2020.2021 has just started (it's Jan 2nd as I'm writing this) -- and there are still many buyers hoping to make a purchase now that 2020 is in the 'rear-view' and sunnier days are ahead. There will likely be some financial fall-out from Covid-19, economic stressors, and business failures in 2021. There will likley still be more buyers than sellers in Muskoka, and we'll still have a strong Seller's market. Pricing in spring 2021 will be based on fall 2020 pricing, and the amount of interest from buyers will determine if pricing will stay high, or go even higher. I see a drop in pricing as an unlikely scenario. My hope is that there will be more listings in 2021, especially residential homes.
What we won't see is a pent-up demand from buyers in spring 2021 like 2020. in June/July.
Ontario quarantine in April/May 2020 seemed to cause an explosion of real estate activity for summer and fall of 2020.
-- that sent the waterfront market skyrocketing upward in price. Many propeties that sold in May/June of 2020 could have sold for 100K more in August or September of 2020.
We can all agree that 2020 was a strange year, for many reasons. Real estate in Muskoka for 2021 will likely return to some normality, however the supply/demand market forces will determine how much any 'cool-down' would effect pricing. I generally tell clients that "Muskoka is a place where more people want to come (and stay) than leave, so our Seller's market reflects that general trend".
