Now, brokers say demand is down, but prices remain high. “There’s some real estate, but take this lake,” says Royal LePage Realtor Craig Armstrong, looking out over Kalabogie Lake. “There is very little for sale in this lake right now.” Armstrong specializes in vacation homes and beachfront properties. Anderson says that just like the housing market, he doesn’t see competing offers for listed properties. Some listings even remain unsold for long periods. “I just sold a house on the Madawaska River, 96% inquiries. But it took 60 days,” Armstrong tells CTV News. “It’s slowed down significantly. The competition we have with buyers is not what it was back in June.” Armstrong says inflation has now replaced the COVID concern. “I think there is some fear in the market. Interest rates make a big difference.” Ottawa resident Dawn Potter and her family have been looking to buy a vacation home for years. “When COVID hit, the supply was much lower and there were so many people looking and it became extremely competitive,” he says. They’re looking for a place they can get away to, but that’s still on the grid for remote work. The right part has not come, forcing them to increase their budget several times. “We waited and waited and waited, hoping the prices would drop, but they didn’t,” says Potter. “So we raised our search limit again. So now we’re at $800,000.” Already living on Lake Calabogie, Val Cooke and her partner bought their waterfront property in the first year of the pandemic. “The kids had to go to school, so as soon as it went online we said, ‘Let’s go,’” Cook explains. “Let’s take the opportunity to get out of dodge.” But Potter is now hesitant to buy a vacation property more expensive than her primary residence. “We’re not willing to spend a million dollars on a cottage at this point.”
