15 Affordable Places to Buy Vacation Properties in Canada

We’ve heard all about the hot housing market in Canada right now but does this extend to vacation properties as well? According to the RE/MAX 2021 Recreational Property Report, it does: Canadians are flocking to buy cottages and cabins, often because they can’t afford to buy in urban markets. This means that selling prices for recreational properties are rising too. Luckily there are still some very affordable properties in most recreational property markets too so you won’t have to buy somewhere that you wouldn’t actually want to spend your vacation. Here are the most affordable places to buy vacation properties in Canada right now. For the purposes of comparison, we only looked at the average prices of waterfront and non-waterfront properties and not for condos, ski-ins, chalets, and the like.

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Haliburton County, Ontario

Some 215 km north of Toronto, Haliburton County is very popular with cottaging Torontonians. It’s currently a seller’s market, with buyers wanting to trade life in the GTA and Hamilton for living – and working remotely – in the country. While price is just one of the things to consider when buying in the country, it really helps if properties are affordable. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in Haliburton County is $1,030,941.65 and $615,459.60 for a non-waterfront property.

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Sylvan Lake, Alberta

The town of Sylvan Lake lies on the shores of the eponymous lake and its location about halfway between Edmonton and Calgary makes it very popular with vacationing Albertans. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in Sylvan Lake is $1,186,500.00 and $404,250.00 for a non-waterfront property.

Star trails over Brock Township, Ontario

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Brock Township, Ontario

Brock Township – and specifically the community of Beaverton – lies only a little over 100 km north of Toronto. Lake Simcoe and the Trent–Severn Waterway are major bodies of water here. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in Beaverton and Brock Township is $862,500.00 and $687,500.00 for a non-waterfront property.

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Thousand Islands, Ontario

You don’t have to go to the Caribbean to have your own island property. The Thousand Islands market comprises an archipelago consisting of nearly 2,000 islands straddling the border with the United States where the St. Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in the Thousand Islands region is $838,759.90 and $594,462.00 for a non-waterfront property.

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Parry Sound, Ontario

Some 225 km north of Toronto, Parry Sound lies on the shores of the sound of the same name and is very popular during cottaging season. The town is not only home to affordable cabin rentals but to affordable vacation properties to buy too. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in Parry Sound is $800,000.00 and $585,000.00 for a non-waterfront property.

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Windsor-Essex, Ontario

The Windsor-Essex market comprises the city of Windsor with Essex, Amherstberg, Kingsville, Tacumseh and LaSalle. Recreational properties here are especially concentrated in Belle River and along Lake St. Clair. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in the Windsor-Essex market is $816,307.95 and $560,995.30 for a non-waterfront property.

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Halifax, Nova Scotia

In Halifax, $500,000 can buy you a three-level family home. It can also buy you a vacation property. The pandemic, strict lockdown measures and the possibility of remote working have made Halifax a seller’s market, with buyers mostly coming from outside of Nova Scotia. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in Halifax is $746,971.28 and $492,502.50 for a non-waterfront property.

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Kenora, Ontario

Kenora – originally known as Rat Portage – lies a little over 200 km east of Winnipeg, near the border between Ontario and Manitoba. This small city lies on the shores of the Lake of the Woods, which straddles the provincial border as well as the border with the United States. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in Kenora is $860,208.70 and $334,493.75 for a non-waterfront property.

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St. Andrews, New Brunswick

St. Andrews – also called St. Andrews-by-the-sea – is currently a seller’s market, with buyers mainly coming from outside of New Brunswick. The historic seaside town lies near the border with the United States, around 250 km southwest of Moncton. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in St. Andrews is $778,732.50 and $368,445.00 for a non-waterfront property.

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Rideau Lakes, Ontario

Rideau Lakes is a township consisting of lots of little villages and hamlets, some 120 km southwest of Ottawa and 55 km north of Kingston. There’s around 500 km of shoreline in the area – and that’s not including the Rideau Canal, which passes through here as well. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in Rideau Lakes is $578,450.00 and $485,100.00 for a non-waterfront property.

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Barry’s Bay, Ontario

Barry’s Bay is a small village on the shores of Kamaniskeg Lake, in the Madawaska Valley around 190 km west of Ottawa. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in Barry’s Bay is $713,000.00 and $341,250.00 for a non-waterfront property.

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Thunder Bay, Ontario

Thunder Bay might not be the first place you think of when you think of vacation properties but there are small rural communities within the city limits, so you can have the best of both worlds: a chance to escape the rat race but still be close enough to the bright city lights for a night on the town. It’s also one of the Canadian regions with below average house prices, including for recreational properties: the anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in Thunder Bay is $464,127.45 and $294,236.32 for a non-waterfront property.

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Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

The capital of Canada’s smallest province is renowned for its well-preserved heritage properties, making this the perfect location to buy in if you want to do home upgrades without renovations. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in the Charlottetown market is $351,169.35 and $374,747.17 for a non-waterfront property.

Lighthouse in the Interlake Region, Manitoba

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Interlake Region, Manitoba

About 70 km north of Winnipeg, you’ll find the Interlake Region, which stretches from the shores of Lake Winnipeg to the shores of Lake Manitoba. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in this market is $372,928.83 and $287,087.68 for a non-waterfront property. One of the reasons the Interlake Region is a seller’s market right now is that people are looking for work-from-home potential.

Sudbury, Manitoulin, French River, Ontario

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Sudbury, Manitoulin, French River, Ontario

The Sudbury, Manitoulin and French River market lies some 400 km northwest of Toronto, along the shores of Lake Huron. There are plenty of provincial parks and lakes, even Manitoulin Island has over 100 lakes. The anticipated average sale price for May to December 2021 for a waterfront property in this area is $306,504.45 and $223,233.15 for a non-waterfront property.