2025 - Cottage Market Review. |
Real estate headlines are dominated by doom and gloom. But even in the GTA, you need to dig into specific areas and property types to see what's going on in your segment. Condos vs. Detached. Downtown vs. Lawrence Park. The same holds true for the waterfront market. But it's much smaller so the data can be less reliable. For example almost 7300 detached homes sold in Toronto in 2025. By comparison, in Muskoka, Parry Sound and Haliburton together, less than 1000 waterfront detached homes sold. They added up to over $1.3B. Remember, luxury markets have been pretty resilient. A cottage is a luxury. Waterfront is a luxury. All 3 areas fared pretty well in terms of Median Sale Price and number of sales compared to 2024. |
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| Det. Waterfront | Muskoka (YoY) | Haliburton (YoY) | Parry Sound (YoY) |
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| # of sales | 433 (-1.4%) |
287 (+2.5%) | 276 (-7.7%) | | Median Sale Price | $1,172,000
(-0.07%) | $740,000
(-6.6%) | $774,500.00
(-8.9%) |
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The Parry Sound market seems to have seen the largest drop in prices. As you can see above, the Median Sale prices in Muskoka and Haliburton have stayed relatively flat since 2024. However, the experience of 2025 Buyers and Sellers may be quite different. To get into the weeds a bit further, we thought we'd look at the price range for the middle 50% of all waterfront detached sales. The 25th percentile to the 75th percentile of sale prices. This reflects what many buyers and sellers feel.
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| Det. Waterfront | Muskoka (YoY) | Haliburton (YoY) | Parry Sound (YoY) |
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| # of 2025 sales | 433 | 287 | 276 | | 2025 sale price range 25-75th percentile | $760,000 to $2,000,000 | $577,500 to $1,045,000 | $533,500 to $1,080,000 | | 2024 sale price range 25-75th percentile | $760,000 to $1,912,500 | $600,000 to $1,147,500 | $629,500 to $1,250,000 |
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This is where most sales happen. Not in the bottom 25% or top 25% of the market. It makes the disparity across our region more glaring. It shows that value conscious buyers at a "starter" price point are more likely to find something they can afford in Haliburton or Parry Sound. There you can see the price range has dropped since 2024. In fact, $1.1M will get you one of the better options.
Not so in Muskoka. Not only did the prices not soften the way they did in Haliburton and Parry Sound, in 2025 the 75th percentile price went UP. |
Luxury on Muskoka's Iconic Big 3. |
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| Det. Waterfront | Lake Muskoka | Lake Rosseau | Lake Joseph |
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# of 2025 sales | 56 (-5.1%) | 32 (+23%) | 17 (0.0%) | | 2025 Median Sale Price | $2,415,000 (20%) | $3,800,000 (14%) | $5,800,000 (16%) | | 2025 sale price range 25-75th percentile | $1,290,000 to $3,400,000 | $2,400,000 to $5,325,000 | $2,450,000 to $7,000,000 |
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Let's dive in a little deeper into Muskoka's most popular lakes. People often ask about values on the "Big 3". Even though only 25% of waterfront sales are on these 3 iconic lakes, it's where we see the most dramatic price appreciation. Muskoka's Big 3 are Lake Muskoka, Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph. Even on Lake Muskoka you can't get much under $1,000,000. When we get into Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph, we see values go up dramatically. |
We love digging into specific areas, lakes, property types etc. If you want a deep dive so you know what's going on in your micro market, just ask! |
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Real Estate Advisors, Brokers Engel & Völkers Toronto Central, Muskoka 107 Maple St. I Port Carling I ON P0B 1J0 Laura 705-765-1474 Derek 416-727-4348
laurainmuskokateam@evrealestate.com I laurainmuskoka.com |
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