Canada’s recreational housing market is expected to boom over the summer season despite a softening in urban markets, according to a new report from Royal LePage.

The Royal LePage Recreational Properties Survey, published Wedneday, forecast the average price for a second home in Canada will increase 5.8 per cent year-over-year to $467,764 in 2018, fueled mostly by Generation X (between 36 to 51 years old) and Baby Boomer homebuyers.

Recreational properties in Ontario and Alberta will rise the most, with prices expected to rise 10.4 per cent to $535,885 and 8.9 per cent to $770,100, respectively, according to the Toronto-based brokerage.

“Driven by the strength of the nation’s economy, Canada’s recreational real estate market is set to experience another strong year,” Phil Soper, Royal LePage President and CEO,  said in a release. “While home values and sales activity in Canada’s largest urban markets have softened, demand for recreational properties remains robust in most regions.”

“The search for that perfect summer getaway continues unabated.”

Only three regions – Manitoba, Atlantic Canada, and British Columbia – will experience price declines in the recreational property market, the report said.

Prices for second homes in B.C. are expected to decrease 2.8 per cent year-over-year to $531,333, mostly due to the speculation tax implemented by the province earlier this year. Royal LePage said the measure will lead many current homeowners to sell their secondary homes, creating more vacancies. However, 40 per cent of recreational property specialists surveyed expect B.C. sales to rise amid the resulting supply increase.

“With Canada’s fastest growing economy, British Columbia’s vast and varied recreational regions might be expected to lead the country,” Soper said. “That will not be the case in the near-term as new taxes aimed specifically at recreational property owners are expected to weaken markets across the province, driving would-be purchasers to invest elsewhere.”

Alberta residents, one of the largest groups of buyers in B.C.’s recreational market, are expected to increasingly look for secondary properties in their own province.

Overall, 42 per cent of the recreational property specialists surveyed said they expect sales activity to climb in their region at the end of this summer season, compared to the same period last year. But the robust sales activity isn’t expected to tighten supply, with respondents in every province, except for Ontario, predicting a rise in inventory when compared to 2017.

And when it comes to foreign buyers, the majority (73.5 per cent) surveyed said foreign ownership makes up less than five per cent of recreational markets.

“Foreign investment, international purchasers make up a very small portion of the recreational market,” Soper said. “And dreaded ‘house flippers’ are an urban phenomenon.”

Royal LePage polled 200 real estate advisors who specialize in recreational property in Canada between May 15 and June 18 for the survey.

Today, the Bank of Canada announced that it is maintaining the overnight rate target at 1.25%.

The Bank notes that it will continue to assess the economy’s sensitivity to interest rate movements and the evolution of economic capacity and take a gradual approach to policy adjustments, guided by data.

We will continue to keep you informed on any further developments.

Debt seems inescapable, and if you are trying to make your financial future healthy it is one of the biggest obstacles towards securing a major loan, whether it be for a car or a mortgage. Frankly, banks will not feel as comfortable giving you a loan if you have a significant amount of debt. If you look, there is TONS of advice on the internet about how to make yourself debt free. They all tell you that their way is the only way. But you aren’t them. The best plan to pay down your debt is the plan you can stick to. Let’s look at two simple ways to clear that debt and their advantages:

The Debt Snowball – Say you have a Costco Credit Card with $4,000 on it (yeah, you can’t walk out of that store without spending a couple hundred bucks) at 25% interest, an $800 MasterCard balance at 18%, and a $10,000 student loan with a 5% interest rate. Rank them from least amount owed to most: 1. MasterCard 2. Costco Credit Card 3. Student Loan. Your minimum payments for them are respectively $40, $90, and $130. Now the hard part, find some extra money to put towards those debts. You can do this by picking up a couple more hours at work or move some of your fun money over to debt payment. So let’s say you scrape together an extra $40 a month. That $40 is added to your MasterCard payment and over time, while still making the minimum payments on your other debts, you pay off the MasterCard. Imagine that good feeling when that MasterCard is finally paid off! Do a little dance! Enjoy that feeling! This is the major incentive of the Debt Snowball; it gives you a sense of accomplishment early on to keep going! You then take the $80 you now have free from paying off your MasterCard and tack it on to the $90 payment of your Costco Credit Card for a total of $170, and then eventually, once that is paid off you tack that amount on to your student loan.

Debt Avalanche – This is the mathematically correct way to pay off your debt, and overall you will be saving more money! However, the downside of it is that it can take a long time to get that first win, and can leave you discouraged. In this example, you rank your payments by interest rate (1. Costco Credit Card at 25% 2. MasterCard at 18% 3. Student Loan at 5%) and you tack the extra $40 you set aside to the Costco Card first because it is your highest interest rate. You then use the same concept as the Debt Snowball!

The best way to pay off your debt is to find the way that works for you. If you’re more motivated by the mathematics behind it (clearly the most financially sound way, but I know that isn’t me) then the Debt Avalanche is the way to go. But if you like seeing results faster, using the Debt Snowball is a great way to keep you motivated.

Let’s be honest, budgeting is the most boring adult thing you can do. You get your first job and you want to finally be able to have fun with your own money. But wait, you want a car, right? You want a house eventually, don’t you? Even if these goals are further down the road, starting to save now is the smartest thing you can do.

Here are two types of budgets that can make “adulting” (aka: budgeting) a little easier:

1. A Cash Diet – This is a bit of a novelty because it involves, wait for it…ACTUAL CASH. That’s right! No cards are involved at all! Crazy I know, but hear me out. How it works is you start by writing down how much is coming in and how much is going out. MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE SAVINGS! Now I’m not saying that you go and pay your landlord or utility company with an envelope full of cash like you’re Heisenberg or something, but after you calculate how much you need for those bills, you take the rest out in actual physical currency. This allows you to have a physical representation of how much you actually spend on things like groceries, transportation, meals out, etc. If you spend 20 bucks buying something on Amazon, take $20 out of your wallet and put it in a drawer and use it towards your next withdrawal.
2. Percentage Budgeting – This is the post-grad of budgeting. You’ve learned the lessons of the Cash diet and you’re ready to graduate to something a bit more modern. And you get to use your precious cards again! Here’s how it works: you take your post-tax income and lay it out as 50/20/30. This means that 50% will go toward those fixed expenses like rent, student loans, cell phone bills, you get it. 20% you put DIRECTLY into a savings account or RRSP, keep in mind this is not a fund to use in case you run out of fun money, this is for that major purchase you’re dreaming about. 30% goes to lifestyle and flexible money, groceries, transportation, basically everything you were using your cash for before.

There are other types of budgets out there, but these two are a good way to train yourself to think realistically about the money that you’re spending. Being honest with yourself now about where your money goes is a good way to ensure that your financial future is healthy and you can actually afford to make those big purchases down the road.

Breaking into the housing market is a daunting prospect. You have to do things like paying off student loans, afford rent, and still have some sort of a social life, all the while trying to put away thousands of dollars to purchase a place you can finally call your own. Here are six tips to maximize those savings efforts.

1. Move in with your parents or in-laws – Everyone likes to give millennials a hard time about not moving out of their parents’ homes. But with the price of housing skyrocketing and wages staying stagnant, the best way to save money is to eliminate your largest expense, which is rent. A $1,000 dollar-a-month rent payment over one year can put $12,000 in your pocket. Even if you still have to pay a token rent payment to your parents, you can easily save for a down payment in a fraction of the time you would have otherwise
2. Find a less expensive place to rent – Moving in with your parents seem like an extreme measure? Try finding a less expensive apartment. Do you really need that second bedroom for the three times a year people come from out of town? Is being right in the heart of the city an absolute MUST? Take the money you are saving and put it right in the bank instead.
3. Use public transportation – Getting rid of one of your vehicles or going completely vehicle free not only saves you money on the cost of that vehicle, but you also eliminate the cost of gas, parking, insurance and maintenance. Did I mention INSURANCE?
4. Stop eating out – You don’t need to buy lunch every day. Using leftovers from the night before or picking up the right groceries during your weekly shopping trip will not only be cheaper, but probably a heck of a lot healthier as well.
5. Take smarter vacations – Maybe you don’t need to go to Mexico this year. A weekend trip to a Bed and Breakfast or staying home to explore your local attractions can save you thousands.
6. Pick a price limit on gifts – Is it really necessary to buy a $250 birthday gift or Christmas present? Do you need to go out for Valentine’s Day dinner AND purchase a gift? Be smart about the things you actually want vs need and think how much better those celebrations will be once you have your own place.

The sweet feeling of walking through your own front door is way better than any take-out burrito. Small financial savings, over time, make a big difference in your ability to buy your first home.