Heading north with a pet can be complicated, especially if you’re renting a cottage. In an attempt to keep cleaning fees down, many rentals don’t allow pets. As a result, you can get stuck looking for a sitter or a kennel that can take your precious pooch for the weekend. We’ve found rentals that will allow your furry family member to come with you and share in the cottage memories.
This two-bedroom, wood cottage is only a block from the sandy shores of Grand Bend. Take fido for an evening stroll along the beach before relaxing in the hot tub.
“Super clean and a well-priced cottage. Lots of space and the hot tub was a fantastic touch,” wrote Annie W. in her review.
Perched on the shore of Lake Eugenia, relax with your pet on the expansive dock or take them for a ride in one of the kayaks. Plus, the cottage is only a 20-minute drive to the hills and breweries of Collingwood.
“Six of us enjoyed a peaceful week away from the city. We kayaked, barbecued, and spent each evening on the dock appreciating the beautiful skies,” wrote Roger O. in his review.
Only two hours east of Toronto, this cottage rental is a short drive to both Kingston and Prince Edward County. Explore Hay Bay in one of the cottage’s six kayaks or take your pet for a dip in the property’s shallow water.
“We just returned from five nights at Hay Bay and at one point I thought my dog wasn’t coming home with us. He absolutely loved the freedom,” wrote Suzan T. in her review.
There’s been a lot of talk about recessions lately. With Canada’s inflation rate hitting 8.1 per cent in June, the largest yearly increase since January 1983, the Bank of Canada is driving up interest rates in an attempt to curb consumer spending and get supply and demand back into the same ballpark.
Real estate—cottages in particular—was expected to be one of the first industries hit by the bank’s tightened purse strings. Yet, a report from real estate company RE/MAX shows that cottage prices are remaining strong throughout Canada, with many regions still seeing price increases.
In 2021, the aggregate price of a cottage in Canada jumped 21.5 per cent to $567,000, according to Royal LePage. This was mostly due to the pandemic. Domestic, rural properties skyrocketed in popularity as people looked to escape urban centres and businesses transitioned to remote work. But even in 2022, when COVID-19 has become a part of our everyday lives, and many businesses are reintroducing in-office work, cottage prices remain high.
Here are the year-over-year recreational prices as of May 2022:
Kawartha Lakes, Ont.’s median residential property price rose by 30.4 per cent to $806,000.
Georgian Bay, Ont.’s benchmark single-family home price rose by 17 per cent to $804,800.
Powell River Sunshine Coast, B.C.’s average price of homes sold rose by 43.3 per cent to $677,950.
Prince Edward Island’s average price of homes sold rose by 20.9 per cent to $405,686.
Despite these increases, cottage prices aren’t skyrocketing the way they were during the pandemic. This is largely due to a decrease in overall sales volume. “You can really see the cut-off at about the end of May in my market,” says Bryan Coxworth, a real estate broker with Sotheby’s International Realty who operates out of Muskoka and Georgian Bay. “April and May I was still getting competing offers on pretty much everything I was selling. And then it kind of abruptly ended right at the end of May, and the market really slowed down through June and much of July.”
As of August, Coxworth has noticed people start to re-enter the cottage real estate market. This week, he sold a waterfront property within 95 per cent of its listed price. “That’s average. That’s where things typically sell if you look at 20 years of history,” he says. “COVID skewed those numbers. But I think where we are now is we’re back to a more normal market.”
A decrease in sales volume means that offers are no longer being driven above the asking price by bidding wars—an occurrence unique to COVID in cottage country, Coxworth says. But prices aren’t going down either. Stable internet and the ability to work from cottage country have ensured that there is still a demand for cottages according to RE/MAX.
But demand has waned compared to 2020 and 2021, especially when you look at the number of available cottages on the market. “During COVID, I was running two to three listings and they’d all sell within two weeks, so you never built up any inventory,” Coxworth says. Pre-pandemic, Coxworth managed 20 to 30 listings at one time. Now, he’s juggling around 14.
“In my mind, we’re not back to the number of listings that we’d seen through 2017, 2018, and 2019. We’re not up to that level of listings. Although, I can see it increasing, and I think it will continue to increase.”
With fewer competing offers and more supply, transactional power has started to shift back to the buyer. Previously, with bidding wars, buyers were often forced to pay over the asking price and didn’t have the luxury of including conditions with the sale. But that’s changing.
“Now, a buyer has an opportunity to come out, negotiate a little bit on the price, and protect themselves with the appropriate conditions on financing and a home inspection,” Coxworth says.
Without as many competing offers, buyers also have time to step away and think about the purchase. Whereas during COVID, if you didn’t act immediately, the cottage was gone, Coxworth says.
“If I were a buyer, this would be the time I’d be wanting to buy because I have more control over the situation now than I did a year ago. Far more control.”
Experts at RE/MAX say it’s unlikely cottage prices will ever return to pre-pandemic levels, but they may start to stabilize.
Starting January 2023, property owners with vacant residences in the municipalities of North Cowichan, Duncan, Ladysmith, Lake Cowichan, Lions Bay, and Squamish will be subject to the tax.
The speculation and vacancy tax was first introduced in 2018 as a way to discourage investors, specifically foreign investors, from buying up multiple B.C. properties, limiting supply and driving up prices.
The tax currently applies to municipalities in the Greater Vancouver Region, Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Kelowna, West Kelowna, Nanaimo, and the District of Lantzville. Under the tax, B.C. residents who own a vacant home in one of those areas must pay 0.5 per cent of their property’s assessed value annually, while foreign owners and satellite families (individuals who earn the majority of their income outside of Canada) pay two per cent annually.
The decision to expand the number of taxable regions was, in part, because those real estate markets were being advertised as appealing alternatives to the already taxed regions, putting housing pressures on the communities, said B.C. Finance Minister, Selina Robinson, during a press conference.
“We kept an eye on how this tax unfolded,” she said. “There was good analysis and recommendations on where else this might need to be expanded given the pressures outside urban centres.”
According to a report commissioned by the B.C. government, the tax has helped add approximately 20,000 condo units to the Metro Vancouver market, and generated $231 million towards affordable housing in its first three years.
Despite these accomplishments, some feel the tax isn’t solving the main issue. “The spec tax has had little to no impact on greater Vancouver real estate,” said Denny Dumas, a Vancouver realtor. “The percentage of homes and condos that are foreign owned and sitting vacant is so small in the big scheme of things. Our big problem in greater Vancouver is supply. The amount of people wanting to live and invest in greater Vancouver far exceeds the supply. And municipalities’ processes to approve permits and add density is 10–20 years behind population growth. I don’t think any policy will really help the prices of housing long term. It’s pretty simple actually, we just need more housing.”
There’s also concern that groups, such as cottagers, are being unintentionally targeted by the tax. In 2019, six B.C. residents launched a lawsuit against the tax. One of the plaintiffs was a 72-year-old woman who’d lived in a house outside of Victoria since she was five. She and her husband now split their time between Texas and B.C., using the B.C. house as a vacation property. But with a primary residence in Texas, they were considered a satellite family subject to the tax.
The overall number of cottagers affected is minimal, but those hit do see significant increases to their taxes. The couple who owned the house in Victoria, for instance, were expected to pay an additional $6,000 per year. The tax’s new expansion will force a handful of B.C. residents who own cottages in Lake Cowichan to start paying the tax in 2023.
“I talked to one gal this weekend,” said Jennifer Allen, a Lake Cowichan realtor. “She came by an open house of mine, and she said she will be one of the people affected because she’s right in the town of Lake Cowichan on Point Ideal where there are probably about 40 lakefront residences.”
To avoid being taxed, a property must be occupied for six months of the year. The property can be occupied by the owner, a family member, or a long-term renter. When asked about cottagers, the Ministry of Finance said that if a cottager wanted an exemption from the tax, they should use the property as their principal residence or rent it out for six months.
Cottages only accessible by water do qualify for an exemption. And the provincial government does offer a $2,000 tax credit to B.C. residents who own a secondary property. This covers the speculation and vacancy tax of a property valued at less than or equal to $400,000. If the property’s value is above that, cottagers will have to pay.
In terms of further tax expansion, specifically to areas such as Whistler and the Gulf Islands, notorious for foreign buyers and short-term rentals, the ministry of finance said: “We are taking a phased approach with the speculation and vacancy tax, and we will continue to monitor the housing markets in areas like Whistler, the Gulf Islands, and other areas of the province to determine whether further changes are required.”
The Royal Bank of Canada is forecasting a “historic correction” to Canada’s real estate market after two frenzied years of buying, and cottage country will feel the impact.
In its latest housing report, RBC assistant chief economist Robert Hogue says that the bank expects home sales to fall 23 per cent this year and 15 per cent next year, eventually culminating in a 42 per cent drop from the start of 2021. That’s a larger decline than any of the past four national downturns (-33 per cent in 1981–1982, -33 per cent in 1989–1990, -38 per cent in 2008–2009, and -20 per cent in 2016–2018). Along with the drop in sales, the national benchmark price will fall 12 per cent by the second quarter of 2023.
The drop in sales and prices is a result of rising inflation caused by COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In May, Canada’s inflation rate reached 7.7 per cent, the largest yearly increase in almost four decades.
To combat rising inflation, the Bank of Canada is raising interest rates, making it more expensive to take out loans, such as mortgages. In July, the Bank of Canada raised its interest rate an entire percentage point to 2.5 per cent. In the RBC report, Hogue says he expects the interest rate to continue rising, reaching 3.25 per cent by October.
Ontario and B.C.’s real estate markets are expected to be hit the hardest, specifically high-priced areas sensitive to interest rates, such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria. Over the next year, RBC predicts that property sales in Ontario and B.C. will fall 38 per cent and 45 per cent respectively, with prices dropping 14 per cent.
The average property price in Ontario has already fallen 7.6 per cent this year, and 4.9 per cent in B.C.
Within these markets, some of the first properties impacted will be cottages. “With consumer spend, what we expect is the consumers to stop purchasing things that are discretionary and keep buying the necessities. That same logic applies to the housing market. If [people] don’t need a cottage, this is probably not really the best time to go out and look for one,” says Claire Fan, an RBC economist.
Out of Canada’s cottage country areas, it’s the markets around Toronto and Vancouver that will experience the greatest changes, Fan says.
“Those markets saw the most uprising in both prices and retail volumes over the course of the pandemic because people were looking for more space,” she says. “But a lot of these markets that saw the biggest price appreciation over the course of the pandemic are the ones that are getting hit the hardest at the moment because larger prices come with pricier mortgages, and those are the most interest-rate sensitive.”
Areas farther away from high-priced urban centres should remain more stable. And Canada’s other provinces won’t be hit as hard as Ontario and B.C. “We project prices to slip less than 3 per cent in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and between 5 per cent and 8 per cent in the majority of other provinces by the first half of 2023,” Hogue says in the report.
While none of this is great news for home or cottage buyers, RBC does expect the real estate market correction to end sometime in the first half of 2023. “We’d argue the unfolding downturn should be seen as a welcome cool-down following a two year-long frenzy that put a huge financial burden on many new homeowners and made ownership dreams harder to achieve,” Hogue says.
Enveloped by boreal wilderness, the Summer Village of Island Lake (est. 1957) hugs the west shore of its namesake. Free of the algae blooms that plague nearby lakes, eight sq. km Island Lake—181 km north of Edmonton and 29 km northwest of Athabasca, the nearest town, on Hwy. 2—has a paddler’s bounty of islets, secluded coves, and narrow passages. There’s an eclectic mix of cottagers and residents, rookies and old timers; properties range from humble backlot cabins to million-dollar waterfront mansions. All cabins have road access. The lake’s 67 islands (some just weedy mounds) are Crown land and cottage-free.
Cottagers swim, wakeboard, show off on two waterski courses, and socialize around three public docks. Hikers, ATVers, and snowmobilers delve into the boreal forest on a network of trails and backroads that stretches across northern Alberta to the Swan Hills and beyond. Everyone turns out in July for Lake Days for softball games, a golf tournament, and a wet and wild cannonball contest. Winners and losers celebrate afterward at a giant barbecue.
Wildlife is abundant, with beavers, muskrats, great blue herons; nesting loons in summer, migrating waterbirds like Canada geese and mallards in fall; and, occasionally, elk, black bears, and wolves. It’s almost impossible not to catch a northern pike. The real prizes, though, are the great-tasting wild perch.
Burrowing your toes into a sandy beach on a hot day feels like a summer ritual. But as it turns out, you don’t have to fly all the way to the Caribbean to enjoy the experience. Ontario’s cottage country has its fair share of sandy beaches.
These cottage rentals all come with private sandy beaches perfect for swimming, suntanning, snorkelling, fishing, and watersports. A couple even have their own beach volleyball courts. If you’re looking for a cottage rental with a sandy beach, these are the getaways for you.
A four-season cottage rental nestled on the sandy shores of Georgian Bay. The property features 90 feet of sandy, weed-free water great for swimming and snorkeling. Plus, it’s only a 90-minute drive from Toronto.
Located just outside of Huntsville, this three-story cottage rental offers a sandy beach that leads down to a dock where you can swim, fish or partake in water sports. There’s even a beach volleyball court if you’re feeling competitive.
Perched on Oxtongue Lake, just 10 minutes from Algonquin Park, this traditional timber frame cottage rental is the perfect summer hangout. Suntan on the sandy shoreline or take the property’s canoe out and explore.
Location: Algonquin Highlands, Ont.
Price: Averages $506 per night
Sleeps: 11
Bedrooms: 4
Notes:
Internet included
Laundry on site
Outdoor fire pit
Canoe and kayak available for use
Pets welcome
Get a discount if you book a stay after October 24
This property boasts a private sandy beach on Deer Lake, only 20 kilometres north of Huntsville. Both the cottage and the beach are wheelchair accessible. Spend your nights sitting around the property’s fire pit, gazing up at the stars while roasting marshmallows.
This cottage rental is a family’s dream. Located in the heart of Muskoka, the property offers a private sandy beach, an outdoor hot tub, a 40-foot dock, and all the boats and water toys you and your kids could ever need.
Located on Clearwater Lake in Muskoka, this cottage rental has a sloping sandy beach with its own volleyball court. The cottage is only open to family rentals but offers a great waterfront for kids to splash around in.
Finding a family-friendly rental that meets all of your needs can be tough. You need a place that can keep the kids entertained, while also letting the adults get some much-needed R&R. These family-friendly cottage rentals offer an abundance of both.
From water toys to high chairs to swingsets, these cottage rentals tick all the boxes. The most taxing part of the trip will be deciding whether to book a mountain retreat, a place to lounge dockside, or somewhere offering outdoor adventures.
Either way, these rentals are sure to satisfy guests of all ages.
Nestled on Sproat Lake, this cottage rental offers a wade-in beach and a 1,200-sq.-ft. dock perfect for swimming. Take advantage of the pool table and foosball in the games room.
“Stunning home and property! In spite of a rainy, cool weekend we had an incredible family get-together! The house, entertainment area, and yard exceeded our expectations! So much to do for all ages!” wrote Warren and Donna P. in their review of the Stirling Arm Lakehouse.
With seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms, this cottage rental feels like you’re staying in your own private lodge. Located on the shores of the Somass River on Vancouver Island, kids can fish and swim, or take a dip in the heated, in-ground pool.
“Lovely private getaway for a family retreat,” wrote Christina M. about the West Coast River Lodge.
Only one hour from Toronto, this cottage rental offers a slice of paradise on Lake Simcoe. Take advantage of the local restaurants, boat rentals, and 18-hole golf course, all within a 10-minute-walk.
“We had a great time at the lake house. We were there with our family of six, kids aged 3 to 10, and two dogs. It was relaxing and comfortable,” wrote Dina K. about Big Bay Point Cottage.
Surrounded by 2.6 acres of a secluded forest, this vacation rental is a great spot for kids to explore and adults to relax. Have a campfire under the stars, head to nearby Deerhurst Highlands Golf Course, or explore Arrowhead Provincial Park.
“It’s a very nice place to stay with family. It’s clean and has everything you need. There are lots of lovely trails around. The host is very considerate and lovely,” wrote Shena X. in her review of Forestview Cottage.
Retaining its historic charm with modern comforts, this cottage rental is perched on a two-acre lot that is big enough for yard games, bonfires, and even a round of baseball. Plus it’s a short trip to nearby Cavendish Beach.
“We had a wonderful stay. Four adults and three kids slept comfortably, and everything you could want to do is very easily accessible from the house,” wrote Janet B. about Tenmile House Cottage.
This luxurious Muskoka cottage is located on a private island in the middle of Gloucester Pool Lake and is accessible by bridge. It has cathedral ceilings, a games room for the kids, and 180 feet of pristine waterfront.
“Rick’s place was just amazing. It’s in a sublime location and the property was perfect for our group. There were plenty of opportunities to relax, have fun on the water, and enjoy the great outdoors,” wrote Christine J. about her stay at Gloucester Pool Cottage.
With a view of the iconic Whistler ski hills, this vacation rental is a secluded mountain retreat. Enjoy the vaulted ceilings, wraparound deck, and outdoor hot tub, or take the family into Whistler Village to check out the local shops and restaurants.
“The house was perfect for our group of nine. It was well equipped, roomy, and the views were even better than the description,” wrote Madeline W. about Nighthawk Lane Cottage.
Retreat to this mountain lodge for your next family gathering. The rental features 10 bedrooms, each with its own private bathroom. There is a billiards room and hot tub for downtime with the family.
“It was a blast. Our family enjoyed our stay at this property. The staff were friendly and willing to help, and the place’s soundproofing made it a great place for the kids to sleep without having them wake up one another. Everything was well stocked and there were plenty of rooms to share,” wrote James C. in his review of Lorimer Ridge Lodge.
This open-concept cottage is perched on the shores of Lake Muskoka amongst 150-year-old pine trees. The cottage features a playscape for kids, a massive dock for swimming, and a horseshoe pit in case the family gets competitive.
“The cottage is beautiful with tons of space! Waking up early to see the sunrise was worth it. The lake was really nice. Barbecuing while the sun sets was also a joy. They have a little playground that my son enjoyed,” wrote Ray N. about Lake Muskoka Cottage.
Location: Gravenhurst, Ont.
Price: Averages $275 per night
Sleeps: 7
Bedrooms: 4
Notes:
Waterfront property
Internet included
Laundry on site
Playscape and swingset available for kids
Outdoor fire pit
Guest fee of $65 per night for each extra adult after the first two renters
This pet-friendly cottage rental comes with all the boats you need to explore Oxtongue Lake. Kids can play in the shallow shoreline or relax in the property’s hammock. And if you’re looking for a family adventure, Algonquin Provincial Park is only minutes away.
“My family and I enjoyed a great week at Freddie’s. Our grandchildren loved the beach and spent many hours playing in the water. The adults enjoyed using the paddle boards and kayaks to explore the lake. The cottage is stocked with everything you need and Will is a great host,” wrote Jim V. in his review of Oxtongue Lake Cottage.
Cottage owners paying off a mortgage got some bad news on Wednesday after the Bank of Canada raised its policy interest rate a full percentage to 2.5 per cent, the largest one-time increase since 1998.
“An increase of this magnitude at one meeting is very unusual. It reflects very unusual economic circumstances,” said Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada, during a press conference.
The Bank of Canada introduced the hike in response to the country’s runaway inflation rate. In May, Canada’s inflation rate rose to 7.7 per cent, the largest yearly increase since January 1983. As a result, the price of groceries, gas, and other necessities has risen in the last several months.
Inflation is caused when demand is greater than supply. According to Macklem, the factors driving inflation in Canada, as well as the rest of the world, include Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the dizzying price of oil, pent up demand caused by the pandemic, and continued supply chain disruptions. By raising interest rates, the Bank of Canada hopes to dissuade people from borrowing money and making purchases, cooling the market and allowing supply to catch up with demand.
The downside of increasing interest rates is that it makes borrowing money more expensive, including student loans, lines of credit, and mortgages. The real estate market is already seeing the effects as sales volume begins to slow. “People qualify for smaller mortgage loans, and they perceive a higher cost. It’s just less appetizing to pay more interest,” said Tom Davidoff, an economics and real estate professor at the University of British Columbia. “It’s just money out of your pocket.”
Cottage prices in Canada are expected to reach an average high of $640,710 in 2022, according to Royal LePage, and have yet to see a significant dip. But Davidoff said that the slowing sales volume is an indication that a price drop will follow.
Individuals who purchased a cottage during the pandemic with a variable rate mortgage will be feeling the effects of the rate increase, while those who took out a fixed rate mortgage should be protected against the increase for the next few years.
Another concern with rising interest rates is that both Canada and the U.S. are headed for a recession. The stock market indicates pessimism on part of the investors, explained Davidoff, “The ratio of price to earnings on stocks has really plummeted.”
On the other hand, Davidoff added that our job market and housing demand have remained strong. “So, there’s a long way to go before a recession.”
For the time being, Canadians should expect further increases in the Bank of Canada’s interest rate. “We are increasing our policy interest rate quickly to prevent high inflation from becoming entrenched. If it does, it will be more painful for the economy—and for Canadians—to get inflation back down,” Macklem said.
The bank’s goal is to get inflation back to its 2 per cent target by 2024. The bank is scheduled to make its next interest rate announcement on September 7.
The search: For Justine and Olivier Penner*, the search for a weekend getaway started with a desire for a little more elbow room. The couple had been renting a two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver since 2011, and in 2018, when their daughter was four years old, they started looking for land that they could enjoy and that would be an investment they could pass along to their daughter.
Most importantly, they didn’t want to spend more than $100,000. “That’s a modest amount, unless you wanted to take on a mortgage,” says Justine. “And both of us are very debt-averse.” Olivier was keen to travel without a car, and so they narrowed their search to the Gulf Islands, which is accessible by ferry after a short bike or bus ride from the city (though they have a car and a cargo e-bike for transport when necessary).
They found a spot that looked ideal: a 1/2-acre plot of land in the woods where they could tent camp, that was a 20-minute walk to local beaches and close to the ferry. And it was potentially within their budget—if they could just get the list price down from $140,000.
The compromise: They researched the history of the land and discovered it had sold for $68,000 the year previous, so they had some hope of bringing the cost down—but unfortunately, their initial offer of $100,000 was quickly declined. But a few months later, Olivier noticed that the land still hadn’t sold. They asked their realtor to re-engage with the seller, and—after rallying a little more money—negotiated a price both sides could live with: $113,000. “I joked with Olivier that we just bought a really expensive camping spot,” says Justine.
The silver lining:Tent camping was the plan for the near future—until they learned their friend, Angela, had built a tiny house on another, more challenging-to-access island. She was hoping to find a place to move it to that was less remote. Local bylaws stated that so long as they kept the wheels on the 16-by-9-foot cabin, the tiny home could legally be “parked” and inhabited for up to 90 days a year as a recreational vehicle—meaning no camping for Justine and Olivier and a closer getaway for Angela and her partner, Daniel. The four of them hammered out a five-year time-share agreement in writing—and they divvied up the $5,000 expense to move the tiny home onto the property (thanks to highway permits and making the cabin road-worthy), along with ongoing maintenance costs. The getaway has been just what the family of three was looking for. “There’s enough room for us to sleep in the loft. We put up little lights, and it’s just naturally cozy,” says Justine.
*All names have been changed
Owner advice: Lessons learned from sharing a tiny home
Cover all the details The couples spent hours creating what they describe as their “MOU”—Memorandum of Understanding—that lasts for five years. It covers how expenses and time at the place are shared and, perhaps more importantly, what happens if someone pulls out of the agreement early and how they would handle it. At the end of five years, they’ll discuss the arrangement for the tiny home again.
Put it in writing
The group uses Google Docs to track everything. There’s nothing formal that says who gets which weekend—“and I wouldn’t expect anyone to block out the whole summer,” says Justine—but so long as either party doesn’t exceed their allotted 45 days, it’s flexible.
Be prepared for some conflict
“You can never anticipate all possible misunderstandings,” says Justine. Lucky for the group, she’s a skilled mediator, so they’ve quickly dealt with anything that comes up. A group WhatsApp channel keeps communication lines open—and they make sure they get together for dinner at least once a quarter to discuss any issues that arise. “We have a pretty high commitment to each other and the friendship,” she says.
Have you recently purchased a cottage in a unique way? Tell us about it: edit@cottagelife.com
Disclaimer: We didn’t consult any design or real estate experts for this article. That should become immediately obvious.
Thinking of selling your cottage? Thinking of renovating to sell it in the future? Then you should think about paint colours. At least, according to a new survey by real estate marketing company Zillow you should. Zillow surveyed more than 3,000 “recent or prospective Canadian home buyers” to gather feedback on their reactions to images of different rooms painted different colours. How interested were they in touring or buying the place? How much would they pay? The results were…confusing. Still, what lessons can cottagers take from all this? We’ve broken it down.
Survey says: Canadian buyers were willing to pay more—about $6,500 more—for a place with charcoal grey kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and living areas.
Lesson for the cottage owner: Charcoal grey the hell out of everything. Paint the porch grey. Paint the closets grey. Got a bunkie? Grey it up. Buy a grey dog, and include it in the listing photos.
Survey says: Even though green kitchens and bathrooms are trendy—wait, they are?—buyers would pay less for them. And don’t even think about painting your kitchen sunshine yellow. According to the results, yellow kitchens, and for that matter, living rooms, were “generally unpopular.” Well, obviously. Why would anyone pay for sunshine when they can get the real thing for free? Blue kitchens and white kitchens scored higher.
Lesson for the cottage owner: Paint your kitchen blue and white. Better yet, paint your kitchen ceiling blue with white puffy clouds, like the ceiling in the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas. You’ll be bringing the outside inside!
Survey says: Burgundy is big in bathrooms—for people who speak French. Apparently, buyers from Montreal would be willing to pay up to, roughly, $4,400 more for places with burgundy bathrooms.
Lesson for the cottage owner: If you can’t source a paint called Burgundy, go with Bordeaux, Merlot, Berry, or, in a pinch, Maroon. Just don’t paint your cottage powder room the colour of fresh blood. That smacks of serial killer.
Survey says: Contrary to the results suggesting that people don’t like green, buyers from Calgary would pay several thousand more for a mint green kitchen.
Lesson for the cottage owner: According to Zillow, “When study participants thought the homeowner had similar tastes to them, they perceived the home more positively and were also more likely to make an offer more than $2,000 higher.” So, give prospective buyers from Calgary mint chocolate chip ice cream as soon as they enter your mint-green kitchen. Double the mint, double the offer! Unless, like many people, they think mint chocolate chip is gross because “it tastes like toothpaste.” In which case, you’ve shot yourself in the foot. And now you’re left with a mint-green kitchen and a freezer full of polarizing ice cream. Sorry.
