Blue Mountain real estate remains strong despite high listings: Report

While affordability remains a challenge across the country, the recreational property market is going strong near our region’s largest ski resort.

According to a Thursday report by Royal LePage, overall sales were up nearly 19 per cent year-over-year for Collingwood, Meaford and Thornbury (Southern Georgian Bay), with the median price of a detached home increasing by 3.9 per cent and the median price of a condo decreasing by 6.1 per cent.

• Housing crisis declared in Town of the Blue Mountains

“Condos in the Snowbridge (Way) area are between $600,000 to $800,000, and detached homes in the Snowbridge area around $1.3-2 million,” said Liliana Grovu, a realtor for eXp Realty who works in the area. “Skiers are mostly investors or (people) who can afford skiing and can afford a second property.”

The LePage report comes just over a year after the Town of the Blue Mountains officially declared a housing crisis.

In a Thursday interview with CTV News at her Barrie brokerage office, Peggy Hill says the increased sales near Blue might be attributed to tariffs and snowbirds transferring their investments from U.S. properties to Canadian properties.

“We definitely in Ontario are in a recession,” said Hill, sharing her skepticism. “During a recession, I don’t think people are going to be out buying ski chalets.”

On the other hand, Resorts of Ontario (ROO) is reporting that they get more than 50-thousand page views a month of people looking for extended stays at resorts across the province.

“Despite the high cost of living, people are still making trips, whether they’re coming for the day or staying overnight,” said Shane Bage, ROO marketing and communications manager. “But we do see a lot of overnight trips due to the seasonality of the winter.”

At the same time, Horseshoe Valley Resort reports that they continue to see nearly 60,000 overnight guests per year.

“We do have residents on site year-round,” said Laura Kiley, the resort’s director of marketing. “There was more of a shift back to that through covid where people started to want to live where they play more.”

That trend was also noticed back near The Blue Mountains, where Grovu says she is seeing buyers who are interested in residing near the resort for all four seasons.

Royal LePage is forecasting that the median price of a single-family detached home near Blue Mountain Resort will increase by seven per cent over the next 12 months.