A bargain in a recreational buyers' makret

Ucluelet on Vancouver Island appears to be one of the recreational property market's bigger bargains as buyers begin to edge back in after abandoning the search for their idyll in 2009's recession, according to the realty firm Re/Max.

Re/Max, in its annual first-quarter recreational property report, found that Ucluelet's starting price of $499,000 for a standard three-bedroom all-season waterfront home compared favourably with the $875,000 price tag on the same type of property in Tofino.

That Ucluelet price is still 10 per cent lower than in 2009 and 23 per cent off 2008 values.

It's a relative bargain in a market that hasn't seen a full recovery from the recession, but boasts some of the highest recreational property prices in the country.

On Saltspring Island, for instance, prices for coveted three-bedroom waterfront homes were still priced in the $750,000 to $800,000 range this year, down 10 to 15 per cent from a year ago.

Lake Windermere in the east Kootenays remained B.C.'s most expensive waterfront real estate in Re/Max's report with a $1.2-million starting price for basic property, though even that price is down eight per cent from peak prices in 2008.

Buyers have begun coming back into the market, Re/Max said. Among the 50 recreational markets it surveys to compile the report, the firm said 79 per cent saw higher sales in the first quarter compared with a dismal 2009, and 43 per cent reported "nominal" price increases.

Rebounding stock portfolios and more stable personal finances among baby boomers and Generation Xers has appeared to help refuel the market, according to Re/Max.

A "stronger than expected economic recovery, combined with additional incentives such as rising interest rates, stricter lending criteria and a new sales tax have served to kick-start activity in recreational property markets from coast to coast," Elton Ash, Re/Max's executive vice-president for the West, said in a news release.

However, while "sales have been strong out of the gate," the market is by no means booming, according to Michael Polzer, Re/Max's Ontario and Atlantic executive vice-president.

"The number of waterfront cottages, condominiums and backlot properties sold in the first quarter still fall short of pre-recession levels," Polzer added.

("Ucluelet a bargain in a recreational buyers' market" prepared by Derrick Penner/Vancouver Sun)