2017 Q1 Muskoka Real Estate Market Update

Muskoka Real Estate — 2017 First Quarter Update

Unit Sales for Muskoka residential properties continue to rise significantly with a 14.86% gain for 2017 over 2016. Muskoka cottage properties stay steady for the past three YOY Q1 with 64 units being sold in 2017, 2016 and 65 in 2015. It’s too early for any good appreciation for what the 2017 Recreational Market will bring, so the conversation below is around the residential market in Muskoka. There’s another two weeks’ worth of ice on the lakes and weather has yet to turn warmer with some consistency. Watch for the semi-annual market update in July 2017. Condominium sales have no gains for 2017 over 2016 Q1, with total sales of 23 in 2017 and 2016.

Below is a breakdown of the residential market by unit sales and towns. Huntsville having the greatest gain at 87.76% YOY for Q1. Next is Gravenhurst at 35.71% and Bracebridge showed a decline of 44%. This decline can mostly be attributed to low inventory levels, which are discussed later, which puts Bracebridge in a strong seller’s market. If listed properly your home should sell quickly.

The next graph is bit cluttered, but wanted to show the number of properties listed and the number of properties sold for Q1 YOY. You will notice the higher than usual inventory levels in 2017 for Huntsville, this is mostly attributed to two new in-town residential subdivisions. The demand was obviously high for these products because unit sales were up over 87% for 2017 vs 2016.

With high demand it’s only natural for prices to increase. Gravenhurst had the largest gain YOY Q1 at 37.73%, followed by Huntsville at 22.56% and surprising Bracebridge was down .9%. Lack of homes for sale in Bracebridge with only 35 properties listed and 28 properties sold in Q1 2017 kept the price flat. Also, Q1 results have less data than other quarters with January and February being the least active months in Muskoka real estate.

Days on market continue to decrease, typical with a seller’s market. Average days for Gravenhurst was down 37.73% YOY to average of 34 days on market, Huntsville down 22.56% YOY to average of 30 days and Bracebridge down 3.77% YOY to average of 51 days on market. The higher days on market for Bracebridge may be attributed to higher than market value pricing, lack of demand or it could be just because we have only limited data at this point in time.

The last chart below shows the percentage of residential property sales for each of the larger towns in Muskoka for 2017 Q1.

Looks like we’re in for another seller’s market for residential properties. Last year recreational properties leaned slightly towards a seller’s market and we’ll need to wait for another couple months before we can determine what’s in store for these properties. May and June tend to be the highest sale months for cottages, so watch for the semi-annual review of the Muskoka real estate market.

If you are interested in statistics that are not mentioned above, send me an email with your questions and I’ll gladly help.

John Aben
john@abenteam.com