What affects the value of my Muskoka Cottage?
When dealing with normal suburban real estate, the motto is always Location, Location and Location, well in a sense this also holds true for a cottage, with the location being the Lake. But here you can also have an anomaly where two properties, one on the lake and one on the other side of the road are worlds apart when compared to price. Below are some factors that affect value of your cottage and that differ from your home.
Size of the Lake
Bigger in this case often leads to higher price, this is why the record prices for cottages have all been on one of the big lakes. The bigger the lake the more conducive it is to the popular watersports.
Also lake cottages are also normally more expensive then river front properties, again as they are more popular.
The Shoreline
A beach is in most cases more preferable than rock shoreline, as long as it is still possible to moor a boat directly onto the dock. Having to moor ones boat 50 m from the shoreline because it is too shallow, will put many a keen boater off.
The width of the shoreline is also a consideration, nearly all cottage properties are elongated rectangles with the narrowest side being on the waterfront, having a larger shoreline gives more privacy, also this is the main consideration for town councils in allowing a boat house or not.
The Access
Is the cottage accessible all year round, or can one only access the property from spring to autumn, this has a great affect on price. As one knows price is determined by demand, and if a property is accessible only ¾ of the year, this excludes any buyers that are considering retiring up in Muskoka, and this number is growing every year. It also excludes all the winter enthusiasts, the snowmobilers, Ice Fishers, etc.
The Extras
Does you cottage have a boat house, especially on a lake where it is difficult or impossible to build a new boat house unless the rights thereof have been grandfathered in.
Some buyers also look for extra frills, such as master suites with garden tubs, open floor plans, spacious updated kitchens, fireplaces, security systems, garages, and Muskoka rooms. These are all things that should catch your own eye when you view a cottage for yourself.
Care should be taken here as a seller, as most of these extras cost more then what the positive effect will have on value and some “extras” can even have a negative effect on value.
Comparables
The value of your cottage is directly impacted by the value of cottages comparable to your cottage that have sold in the recent past. But where in the suburbs the comparables are taken from the immediate neighborhood, in cottage country comparables are taken from similar lakes (similar size, access, distance from Toronto, etc.)
The Season
Though not a huge impact it does affect the price by about 5-10%. Again this is due to demand and supply, and there are many more people look at cottages in the spring and summer, then they are in the autumn and winter. Thus if you are a buyer you should be looking in the late autumn (in Winter you cannot get a proper feel for the property or lake as it will be frozen over), and if you were a seller you would want to put the cottage on the market in early spring.
