A Summerside Realtor has the perfect buy for someone in the market for a cottage - as long as the purchaser has $7.75 million that is.
Michael Poczynck with michaelshomes.com, a P.E.I. real estate company, just happens to be listing the most expensive summer home in eastern Canada.
Situated on 11 acres in Cable Head East, this 13,500-square-foot cottage was designed and built by an architect living in Philadelphia who built the massive structure as his summer home.
Now, he's selling it for just under $8 million.
"It is the largest and most expensive house on the east coast of Canada," Poczynck said Thursday.
The Cape Cod cottage is not only expensive, it's expensive to run. The approximate cost to run the underground electricity from the road to the house was $200,000 and each doorknob costs roughly $400.
But, according to a national survey commissioned by Royal LePage Real Estate Services, almost half of Canadians are considering buying a recreational property to improve their lifestyle, despite concerns about increasing taxes, rising interest rates and new regulations that require higher down payments on second homes.
Poczynck hopes the poll is indicative of future interest in the Cable Head East summer home.
When buyers were asked why they plan to purchase recreational property, lifestyle was the number one reason given, at 47 per cent.
Only one in four buyers say new Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation regulations reduce their desire or ability to purchase a recreational property. The changes will require Canadians to pay a minimum 20 per cent down payment on any residential or recreational property they purchase that is not their primary home.
Those not in the market for a multimillion-dollar cottage can take heart. The average cost of a cottage in Prince Edward Island is between $180,000 and $200,000. The national average is from $65,000 to $1.5 million.
Ken Peters, broker and owner of Royal LePage on P.E.I., says how much a summer home sells for depends on where it is.
"We see them as high as $400,000 on the water," Peters said.
He said the prime areas for cottages are in Rustico, Park Corner, Canoe Cove and Bell's Point.
Lot values alone can run $150,000.
Peters said cottage sales are not overly brisk at the moment.
"It's not overly busy but we are hearing people from Alberta and Ontario either buying seasonal . . . or talking about renting them out for a month (and) staying in them for a month in the summer. It covers their mortgage."
He said the cottage market on P.E.I. was much stronger when the Canadian dollar was much lower.
"We used to see a lot more Americans buying properties. They could buy them at 60 per cent, 70 per cent of the value."
In terms of foreign ownership (anyone not a resident of P.E.I.), any property over 165 feet of water frontage or over five acres has to be approved by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission but Peters says that's not a big problem. That's based on one name being on the sales agreement so if a couple puts both names down, that criteria doubles.
Peters says P.E.I.'s lifestyle is a big factor when it comes to foreign ownership.
"We're considered a safe haven compared to some places. The pace of life is slower. I get that all the time."
For those looking for something relatively inexpensive, don't fret. Peters says cottages can be had for as little as $60,000.
Average Prices:
2010 Recreational Property Price Summary by province:
P.E.I. - $180,000-$200,000
Nova Scotia - $190,000
Newfoundland - $110,000
New Brunswick - $65,000-$1 million
Quebec - $326,000-$650,000
Ontario - $140,000-$1.05 million
Manitoba - $189,000-$360,000
Saskatchewan - $245,000-$600,000
Alberta - $300,000-$555,000
British Columbia - $345,000-$1.5 million
National average - $65,000-$1.5 million
