As cottage season approaches and waterfront properties prepare to reopen across Ontario, the dream of owning one is not shared by everyone, particularly younger generations facing rising housing costs.
Marcus Arias, a first-year Fitness and Health Promotion student at Durham College, said his understanding of cottage life is limited.
“Honestly, I don’t really know because I haven’t actually been to a cottage. I guess like parties, getting together with friends, family,” he said.
According to data from the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations, there are 248,763 waterfront properties across Ontario.
A 2022 report shows Ontario’s central region, including Muskoka, Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough, has the highest number of cottages at 91,526. The Greater Toronto Area, which includes Toronto, Durham, Halton, Peel and York, has the fewest, with 4,493.
Marium Abdulla, a final-year Human Resources student at Ontario Tech University, said the experience reflects “Canadian culture, time with friends, family — meaningful time without devices.”
Local realtor Dan Plowman said the cottage market saw a “massive change” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The lakes were incredibly busy,” he said, adding the surge in demand drove prices higher. “Cottages spiked higher than they should have, and a big part of that spike was during COVID.”
The market has since cooled. A report by Finding Your Muskoka, a family-owned real estate agency in Parry Sound that uses data from Habistat Analytics, points to a recent decline.
According to the same firm, listing terminations — when a property is taken off the market without being sold — rose 344 per cent year over year in 2025, signalling “widespread repositioning and repricing.”
Plowman said economic uncertainty has left many potential buyers waiting.
“A lot of people are holding right now,” he said. “They’re in a holding pattern because of the news and because there’s some insecurity in our markets. There’s some instability.”
He described many as “fence-sitters,” noting there is now more inventory as fewer properties are being sold.
“Cottages are costly. They’ve always been costly,” he said.
Plowman estimates only two to three per cent of high-income earners can afford lakefront properties, but said alternatives are emerging, including co-ownership, short-term rentals and trailer parks.
“People don’t care that they don’t own land but they can still enjoy that cottage environment. That makes it more affordable for a younger generation,” he said.
Arias said cost remains a barrier, while Abdulla added cottage ownership feels out of reach.
“It’s more of a fantasy. It’s so expensive to even own a house these days, let alone a cottage,” she said.