Issue No. 6

Peterborough, Ontario

The lake finally warmed up, the evenings got long, and just like that, cottage season is here. June kept us busy, and it turned out to be a pretty interesting month for the market too, especially once a fresh batch of numbers came out mid-month and got everyone talking.

How June Actually Went

June was a strong month for us. Buyers were out in good numbers and they knew what they wanted. Homes priced for today’s market kept pulling in offers, and the ones still chasing 2022 prices mostly sat there. It sure didn’t feel like a slow summer, at least not from where we were standing.

Then around the middle of the month, the board released its latest numbers and they backed up exactly what we’d been seeing. The City of Peterborough recorded 205 sales in May, up from 109 the May before. That’s nearly double in a single year. At the same time, the average price landed at $591,334, which is down 7.5 percent from a year ago.

That combination is worth a closer look, because you don’t usually see a jump in buyers and a dip in prices at the same time. When it does happen, it tends to mean one thing: the folks who’d been waiting on the sidelines for a couple of years finally decided the price was right and got moving. This wasn’t a frenzy, not even close. People just ran the numbers and made their move. That’s the market we worked through in June, and it’s a lot healthier than the headlines give it credit for.

If you’re a seller, there’s some good news in all of that. You didn’t need a red-hot market to sell this June, and you won’t need one in July either. What you need is a fair asking price and a home that shows well. The buyers are out there right now and they’re buying. They’re just buying the homes that are priced honestly.

Summer Has a Clock On It

Spring buyers tend to be planners. Summer buyers usually have a deadline. A lot of the families looking right now are hoping to be moved in and settled before school starts in September, so there’s a quiet urgency over the next eight weeks that you don’t really feel the rest of the year.

The type of buyer shifts too. Summer is when out-of-towners actually come up and see the area in person instead of scrolling listings from a desk in the city. They spend a weekend up here, and the region tends to do the rest. If you’re selling, those are the people you’re showing to over the next while, so put your place in its best light: bright, open, and ready to enjoy.

About That Rate Cut You’ve Been Waiting For

A lot of what we saw in June ties back to the rate decision earlier in the month. On June 10, the Bank of Canada held its key rate at 2.25 percent, the fifth hold in a row. The next decision comes July 15, and most economists figure they’ll hold again through the rest of the year.

For two years now, we’ve heard the same thing from buyers: “we’ll move when rates come down.” What the Bank told us this spring, in plain terms, is that the big cut everyone’s been waiting on probably isn’t coming. Rates are flat, and they look like they’ll stay that way. So a lot of buyers did the math and realized the thing they were holding out for was already here. A steady rate on a home that costs less beats waiting around for a dream rate that never shows up.

Market Insights | Peterborough

Waterfront Season Is Officially Open

June is when the lake really comes to life, and even though the warm weather showed up later than usual this year, it didn’t disappoint. It’s also when waterfront buyers start to move, and right on cue, they did. After more than twenty years selling in the Kawarthas, here’s the one thing we tell every cottage buyer: the view sells the dream, but the view isn’t what protects your money down the road.

Two cottages on the same lake, with the same gorgeous sunset, can be worth very different money. Here’s what actually accounts for the gap.

What Drives Waterfront Value Beyond the View

• Shoreline type. A clean, firm, gradual entry that’s good for swimming is worth real money. A weedy, mucky, or sharply rocky bottom drags the value down, no matter how nice the water looks from the deck.
• Water depth. You want enough depth off the dock to swim and to keep a boat. Shallow flats that drop only a foot over thirty feet limit what you can do, and they limit who you can sell to later.
• Exposure and orientation. West and southwest frontage gets the afternoon sun and the sunsets people pay a premium for. It also catches more wind and wave on a big open lake. A sheltered bay trades the drama for calmer water and easier docking. Neither one is better, they just suit different buyers and price differently.
• Usable frontage. It’s not just how many feet of shoreline you have, it’s how much of it you can actually use. Wide, level, usable frontage beats a longer lot that’s mostly cliff or marsh.
• Four-season versus seasonal. A year-round cottage with a drilled well, a proper septic, insulation, heat, and a maintained road is a whole different animal than a seasonal camp down a private road. It’s easier to use, easier to finance, and it sells to a much wider pool of buyers.

Buying a Cottage Is Not Buying a House

Here’s the part that catches a lot of first-time cottage buyers off guard. A cottage purchase comes with a checklist a house purchase simply doesn’t. Run through this before you fall in love with a place.

1. Septic systems. Find out the type, the age, where it sits, and when it was last pumped. A failed or undersized septic is one of the most expensive surprises in waterfront real estate. Get it inspected.
2. Water access. Some properties are reachable only by boat. That affects financing, insurance, year-round use, and resale. Know what you’re buying before you’re charmed by it.
3. Shared road agreements. Plenty of cottages sit on private or seasonal roads kept up by a road association with annual dues. Ask for the agreement in writing and find out what the yearly cost and obligations really are.
4. Seasonal financing rules. Lenders treat seasonal properties differently than four-season ones. That can mean a bigger down payment and fewer lenders willing to play. Sort your financing before you shop, not after.
5. Well water testing. Test for bacteria and for flow. You want to know the water is safe to drink and that there’s enough of it. Get the results in hand before closing.

None of this is meant to scare you off. It’s just about making sure the place you fall for this summer is one you can actually enjoy, without an expensive surprise in year two or three!

Tip of the Month

See the Water More Than Once

Summer in the Kawarthas

Here’s something we tell our city buyers all the time. You’re not just buying a house up here. You’re buying the region.

People fall for the Kawarthas in the summer for good reason. It’s the kind of place where your weekend doesn’t need a plan. You can be out on the water by nine, at a farmers market by lunch, and watching the sun drop behind the trees from your dock by evening. The lakes, the trails, the small towns, the slower pace. That’s really what people are after. The house is just how you get it.

It’s that “live where you vacation” idea, except around here it isn’t a slogan, it’s just how life works. The same water people drive two hours to visit on a long weekend is the water some folks wake up to every morning. Once that clicks for a buyer, the whole search changes. They stop asking only about square footage and start asking about the lake, the sunset, and how far it is to a morning coffee and a good swim.

That’s the quiet strength of this market. Even in a year when prices have softened, the reason people want to be here hasn’t changed one bit. And summer is when that reason is impossible to miss.

Community Updates | Peterborough

The calendar lines up nicely this week, with three local things worth circling.

Canada Day, Wednesday July 1. The City of Peterborough hosts the day at Del Crary Park from 4p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The parade kicks off at 10 a.m., heading down George Street to the park after opening remarks and a bike decorating contest at City Hall at 9:30 a.m. The park fills with community groups, vendors, food, and family activities all afternoon, leading into a free Peterborough Musicfest concert for all. Then the fireworks light up Little Lake around 9:30 p.m. All of it is free for everyone to enjoy!

Peterborough Musicfest, Season 39. The city’s beloved free concert series is back at Del Crary Park, every Wednesday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. through August 19, with 16 free shows on the schedule. The season kicked off over the long weekend, and the lineup ahead includes Gowan, Sass Jordan, Lighthouse, Crash Test Dummies, and plenty more. Bring a chair, bring the family, and stay for the sunset over the water.

Licence-free fishing week, June 27 to July 5. For nine days around Canada Day, Ontario residents can fish without a licence or Outdoors Card. It’s one of the easiest ways to get the kids on the water for the first time, and we happen to live in one of the best regions in the province to do it. The usual rules still apply, so follow conservation catch and size limits and carry government ID with your name and date of birth. Then go find a dock.

Fireworks, free music, and a free line in the water. That’s about as Kawartha as a week gets.

Our Active Listings

Full details and updates can always be found here: Our Listings

Looking Ahead

July is usually a busy, steady month for our team, and after the June we just had, this one looks like it’ll be even busier. Volume was the big story this spring. Prices are the open question for the back half of the year, and the next month or two should start to answer it.

If you want to talk through the summer market, or you’re starting to think about a cottage and want to know what to look for before you fall for one, reach out anytime. Call or text 705-243-9797, email team@jeffandkatie.ca, or visit jeffandkatie.ca. We’re always happy to give you a straight, honest read on where things stand.