听
Prospective cottage owners in and around Regina are apt to learn the spring buying season won鈥檛 be a day at the beach. Young families and retirees are doubling demand for out-of-town abodes so far this year.
听
Low interest rates and travel restrictions forced by the COVID-19 pandemic are driving their demand.
听
In the Qu鈥橝ppelle Valley northeast of Regina, cottages and cabins are sitting listed for less than a week, according to John McNally, the owner-broker with Hatfield Valley Agencies.
听
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have anything really listed anymore. They鈥檙e selling faster than I can put 鈥榚m up 鈥� You鈥檙e looking at a day (turnaround time) and multiple offers鈥� per property, he said.
听
His business sells properties on each of the valley鈥檚 four lakes 鈥� Pasqua, Echo, Mission and Katepwa. Empty lots, too, are hot commodities, he said.
听
Before the pandemic a cottage in the area would sit on the market, on average, for one to two months.
听
鈥淲e鈥檝e always had good demand,鈥� McNally said. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 just a lot more people looking for that, because I think they鈥檙e coming to the realization travelling and all that sort of stuff is not going to be on the horizon.鈥�
听
Non-essential travel (tourism and leisure) between the United States and Canada remains closed at land-based border听 crossings at least until April 21. That date will mark 13 consecutive months for the closure.
听
In Regina Beach, C&C Realty owner-broker Les Zurowski said 2020, the busiest year of her 27-year career, has given way to high demand through the first quarter of 2021.
听
鈥淎ll indications are demand鈥檚 going to continue into this summer,鈥� she said.
听
Young retirees are driving demand for lakefront properties, which tend to have higher asking prices, Zurowski said.
听
鈥�30- to 40-year-olds are probably the prime buyers for starter homes and for a lot of the cottages 鈥� I think the market is still being driven by low interest rates.
听
鈥淏ut I think COVID has definitely encouraged or made people curious about getting out of the city and getting out to some open spaces,鈥� either as a work-from-cottage setup or as a听 weekend-hideout from the city.
听
Data from the Saskatchewan Realtors Association backs up both brokers鈥� assessments.
听
In January and February this year 鈥渟ales of year-round recreational properties are up 225 per cent compared with 2020,鈥� up to 39 from 12, economic analyst Chris Gbekorbu said in an emailed statement. 鈥淪easonal properties are up 150 per cent (15 in 2021 compared with 6 in 2020).鈥�
听
听
