{"id":471985,"date":"2022-07-08T18:33:40","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T15:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/cottage-industry-muskoka-the-old-faithful\/"},"modified":"2022-07-08T18:33:40","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T15:33:40","slug":"cottage-industry-muskoka-the-old-faithful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/cottage-industry-muskoka-the-old-faithful\/","title":{"rendered":"#Cottage Industry: Muskoka, \u201cthe old faithful\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a414f9fe604b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a414f9fe604b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/cottage-industry-muskoka-the-old-faithful\/#%E2%80%9CCottage_Industry_Muskoka_%E2%80%9Cthe_old_faithful%E2%80%9D%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Cottage Industry: Muskoka, \u201cthe old faithful\u201d&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/cottage-industry-muskoka-the-old-faithful\/#Muskoka_Ontario\" >Muskoka, Ontario<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CCottage_Industry_Muskoka_%E2%80%9Cthe_old_faithful%E2%80%9D%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Cottage Industry: Muskoka, \u201cthe old faithful\u201d&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n                            Surging prices, bidding wars, blind offers\u2014the search for seasonal real estate has become a battlefield. Tales from 10 of Canada\u2019s hottest vacation towns.\n                        <\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"p3\"><em>In the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/canadianmags.ca\/products\/copy-of-macleans-single-issue\">July issue<\/a> of Maclean\u2019s, and each week here online, recent buyers divulge what they had to do to acquire the cottages of their dreams: pool family money, send relatives for viewings, hop on the first flight to Atlantic Canada post-bubble, or buy sight unseen, sometimes from thousands of kilometres away.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Muskoka_Ontario\"><\/span>Muskoka, Ontario<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Average recreational property price (2021):\u00a0<\/strong>$842,000<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>The Market:\u00a0<\/b><span class=\"s1\">Known to some as the \u201cHamptons of the north,\u201d Muskoka has been a go-to for affluent vacationers\u2014<\/span>including the Weston and Rogers families\u2014for decades. (A new twice-weekly flight service from Toronto allows jet-setters to skip the Friday rush-hour crush.) But Muskoka\u2019s exclusivity isn\u2019t all hype: even before the pandemic, the area\u2019s inventory of rustic cabins, post-and-beam models and glass-and-steel getaways was slim, making the recent demand for cottages all the more frenzied. Case in point: prices for landlocked properties jumped 49 per cent from 2020 to 2021, while the average waterfront spot can fetch just over a million bucks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>The Buyers:\u00a0<\/strong>Andrew Ratchford, a 39-year-old tech sales executive, and his wife, Emily, a 37-year-old retail buyer.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1238075 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/macleans-cottage-final-5448_GradyMitchell-e1657294100354.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3000\" height=\"1732\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Andrew:\u00a0<\/b><\/span>I grew up in Oshawa, Ontario. The family next door spent summers at their cottage on Lake of Bays, and they would sometimes invite me to come along. I remember being so eager to get up there and enjoy the water. When I got older, I continued to visit the Lake of Bays Sailing Club. During university, I got a summer job at the golf course on nearby Bigwin Island. I promised myself I\u2019d have my own cottage on that lake someday.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>RELATED: Cottage Industry: Invermere, the \u201cbest-kept secret\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p2\">By 2019, Emily and I had three kids under nine and a home in Mississauga. We were finally in a position to afford a cottage. We imagined a waterfront property with two or three bedrooms for under $1 million\u2014on Lake of Bays, of course. We saw 10 properties during the summer of 2020, but the uncertainty of the pandemic stopped us from making any offers. We went into 2021 with our down payment ready to go. The market was crazy, and it didn\u2019t seem like it would get any better.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1238076 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/macleans-cottage-final-5458_GradyMitchell-e1657294070963.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3000\" height=\"1680\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">In March of 2021, we saw a teardown property on Seabreeze Road, along the east side of Lake of Bays, listed for $950,000. We offered $1,050,000, but we lost to a bid of $1,200,000. Our real estate agent\u2014the same next-door neighbour whose cottage I summered at\u2014convinced me to expand our search. A week later, we saw a place on nearby Dickie Lake, but we lost that one, too. The sellers received 30 offers.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>MORE: Cottage Industry: Okanagan, \u201cthe million-dollar market\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">In a twist of fate, our agent got word of a cottage listed at $975,000, just 10 houses down from the first place we saw. Emily visited while I was working, and she said it was \u201cthe one\u201d: four bedrooms and a bathroom, cottagey wood walls, a firepit and a screened-in porch overlooking the lake. The listing agent was holding back offers for a week, but we registered an offer of $1,255,000 as soon as we could, hoping to scare off our competition. It worked\u2014we won.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1238077 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/macleans-cottage-final-5487_GradyMitchell-e1657294032685.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3000\" height=\"1695\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">We took possession in June of 2021. On weekends, we boated, barbecued and sat by the campfire at night. It was exactly what <span class=\"s1\">I had envisioned when I dreamed of buying<\/span> on Lake of Bays as a kid. We even sporadically rented out the property through word of mouth for $4,500 a week to help offset the cost of our mortgage. (Our family stayed in the bunkie.) We\u2019re planning on doing the same this year, but we\u2019re upgrading the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>liances first.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Our experience taught me that when the market\u2019s heated, you have to be ready to buy at a moment\u2019s notice. In Muskoka, there\u2019s not a lot of space for hesitation when you\u2019re trying to buy \u201cthe one.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>This article appears in print in the July 2022 issue of<\/em>\u00a0Maclean\u2019s\u00a0<em>magazine. Subscribe to the monthly print magazine\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/secure.macleans.ca\/loc\/MME\/head_subscribe\">here<\/a>,\u00a0or buy the issue online\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"c-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" href=\"http:\/\/canadianmags.ca\/products\/copy-of-macleans-single-issue\" data-stringify-link=\"http:\/\/canadianmags.ca\/products\/copy-of-macleans-single-issue\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" data-remove-tab-index=\"true\">here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1237505 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/COVER_.09375_DRE-e1655330793623.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"366\" height=\"500\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"under-article-widget-nl\">\n<p class=\"under-article-widget-title\">Looking for more?<\/p>\n<p class=\"under-article-widget-description\">Get the best of <em>Maclean<\/em>&#8216;s sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>, commentary and analysis.<\/p>\n<p>                <iframe style=\"display:none;width:0px;height:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/economy\/realestateeconomy\/cottage-industry-muskoka-the-old-faithful\/about:blank\" name=\"gform_ajax_frame_26\" id=\"gform_ajax_frame_26\" title=\"This iframe contains the logic required to handle Ajax powered Gravity Forms.\"><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/economy\/realestateeconomy\/cottage-industry-muskoka-the-old-faithful\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Cottage Industry: Muskoka, \u201cthe old faithful\u201d&#8221; Surging prices, bidding wars, blind offers\u2014the search for seasonal real estate has become a battlefield. Tales from 10 of Canada\u2019s hottest vacation towns. In the July issue of Maclean\u2019s, and each week here online, recent buyers divulge what they had to do to acquire the cottages of their dreams:&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":471986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/macleans-cottage-final-5448_GradyMitchell-e1657294100354-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[130868,131202,71226],"class_list":["post-471985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-cottage-industry","tag-muskoka","tag-real-estate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}