Ski properties remain in high demand despite rising interest rates

Real estate in Canada’s most popular winter recreational destinations continue to see high demand, bucking the broader trend of declining home sales amid fast-rising borrowing costs, a new report shows.

The Royal LePage Winter Recreational Property Report, released in late fall, shows the median price of a single-family detached home in ski regions across Canada increased in the first 10 months of 2022 by 15 per cent over 2021 to reach $1,042,700.

Canmore was among the most expensive communities in the study with the average price of a single-family home reaching nearly $1.6 million. It also saw among the largest year-over-year gains at nearly 24 per cent.

The report forecasts that rising rates and a two-year ban on foreign buyers starting in 2023 will dampen demand in the new year, leading to a four per cent decline in prices in Canmore.

Whistler, Canada’s most expensive real estate market for recreational properties, is forecast to see the largest decline in price in 2023, falling 10 per cent to about $3.3 million.