Recreational Property Prices Pushed Up By BBoomers

Large numbers of Canadians will have a "must be nice" moment this weekend as we venture out on our first summer break with dreams about owning a recreational property.

Stats: Prices are "set to soar" in the coming months.

And put the blame for the spike in high-end recreational property on affluent BBoomers, who are cashing in recent stock market gains and plowing it into waterfront.

Retirement and quality family time are the most important motivating factor, while investment is only "secondary."

Still, with starting prices topping $500,000 in 31% of the "upper end" recreational property markets, cost clearly is a serious issue.

There are some bargains out there. The report noted Elliot Lake in Ontario and Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. But buyers at Invermere, Kelowna and Salt Spring Island in B.C. and Sylvan Lake, Alta., can expect to fork over $1 million and up.

Doug Gray, author of The Complete Guide to Buying and Owning Recreational Property in Canada, advises buyers not to make their decision on an "emotional personal benefit" but to really "drill down" and examine any purchase based on "rational time thinking."

Gray lists his top 5 pitfalls to avoid when a buying recreational property:

• Have a realistic assessment of your needs.
• Carry out fastidious research using the Internet and a local lawyer.
• Be "very aware" of estate planning issues.
• If the plan includes a revenue stream to augment the purchase, "check it out thoroughly."
• And if you are thinking of a joint purchase and time sharing with others "think twice, then think again."