Ottawa Valley cottage prices on the rise

A new survey finds cottage prices in the Ottawa Valley are climbing, but still more affordable than many other regions across the province. CTV’s Dylan Dyson re

Those in the Ottawa Valley looking to purchase a cottage this year can expect to be paying more.

A recent survey by Royal LePage says that from 2023 to 2024, the price of a single-family recreational property in the Ottawa Valley rose from $438,000 to $476,000, an increase of 8.7 per cent.

“Spring market has just hit, people are looking to put their cottages on the market right now,” says Clint Pettigrew, a sales representative with Royal LePage Team Realty in Arnprior.

Among single-family recreational properties, the Ottawa Valley saw the biggest price increase year-over-year across all of Ontario. The Land O’Lakes & Tweed region saw the next highest increase at 7.2 per cent, according to the survey.

But despite that increase, the Ottawa Valley is still one of the most affordable cottage regions in the province on average, coming in cheaper than places such as Rideau Lakes ($596,000), Muskoka ($650,000), and Kawartha Lakes ($761,000).

“We have million-dollar homes. We have the rustic log cabin that was from the 50’s, we still have some of those,” says Pettigrew. “So it’s your budget.”

“When you compare us to Muskoka, you can still get a really nice cottage for $600,000 in our area, on the water, on a really good piece of river.”

Overall across the province, cottage prices experienced a drop in price of 1.5 percent. The median price for a single-family recreational property in Ontario in 2024 was $640,700.

This year’s forecast by Royal LePage continues to look more expensive for those in the Ottawa Valley, with an expectation that recreational property prices across Ontario will increase by another one percent in 2025.

Even with prices on the rise, there is an expectation that the cottage market will remain hot in 2025, with vacation plans south of Canada’s border to the United States becoming less appealing.

“With our erratic neighbor to the south, maybe people are looking to stay more at home. Maybe they’re renting a cottage to start. Or they rented a cottage during the pandemic, they figured out that they really like our area. So, I think they’re looking to spend their money in our country,” Pettigrew added.