Clear Lake realtor credits lifting of boat ban for upswing in sales

WASAGAMING — The return of motorized boating on Clear Lake is helping restore confidence in the area’s recreational property market, realtor Kyle Bazylo told the Sun.

Clear Lake, located within Riding Mountain National Park, has faced several years of uncertainty following the discovery of zebra mussels and restrictions on boats entering the lake.

Bazylo said that with boating permitted again under new rules, activity has picked up sharply this spring.

“Five cabins have been sold in the area in last two months, compared with one sale during the same period last year,” he told the Sun on Sunday.

“It’s definitely picking up, and that’s even with this terrible weather we’ve had. If it’s been warmer, there’d be more people up here, and I think there’d be even more interest.”

He said prices remain relatively stable compared with last year, but he expects values to increase if demand continues rising and inventory tightens.

“I think there’s a good chance prices will go up in the summer, in the next couple of weeks, and into summer,” Bazylo said.

He pointed to a recent waterfront sale that set a new local benchmark.

“It was the highest price cabin sold in Clear Lake ever,” he said. “The property sold for $930,000.”

Bazylo compared Clear Lake’s market to Waskesiu Lake, Sask., and said the two recreational destinations had followed similar growth trends before the boating restrictions slowed Clear Lake’s momentum.

“We’re still quite far behind them,” he said. “If we follow their trend, there’s a good chance we’re gonna start shooting back up again.”

He said limited lakefront inventory could eventually push some properties above the $1-million mark.

Outside the national park, Bazylo said interest is also growing as some buyers seek fewer regulations and titled land ownership.

“There’s a wide variety for every budget, really,” he said. “From a $250,000 budget to a million dollars, you can find a place.”

Bazylo also said inventory is tightening.

“Last year, in some spots … there was probably 10 for sale at any given time, and now I think there’s probably three, maybe four there,” he said. “When inventory limits are reached, that means prices go up.”

However, another longtime realtor says the market has remained stable despite the uncertainty surrounding boating restrictions.

Leslie Barnett, a realtor with Century 21 Westman Realty Ltd., said activity this spring is consistent with normal seasonal trends in the area.

“This is the same amount of activity that we would normally receive this type of year,” Barnett told the Sun.

She said many seasonal properties inside Riding Mountain National Park are inaccessible during the winter months, naturally slowing activity until spring.

Barnett acknowledged some buyers paused decisions last year because of uncertainty over boating rules, but said the overall market did not decline.

“The market, based on the number of sales that have happened, we’ve not seen a dip,” she said. “What we just saw was that the days on the market may have been a bit longer than what they had been in the past.”

Barnett described the area as a resilient recreational market where buyers are often not under pressure to purchase immediately.

“Our area is a very unique area,” she said. “We mostly deal with buyers that don’t have to buy and sellers that don’t necessarily have to sell.”

She said the market continues to attract a broad range of buyers.

“We have properties selling as low as $50,000, and properties sell higher than a million, and there is something for everybody here,” Barnett said.

Barnett also said pandemic-era market conditions were unusual because low interest rates and travel restrictions kept many Manitobans vacationing within the province.

“COVID was an anomaly,” she said. “If we look at the numbers before COVID and exclude that out of the equation, we’re exactly where we were, and if not a little bit better.”

Local business owners are also optimistic about the coming tourism season.

Kent Gowler, whose family owns the Park Theatre, The Park Bench, The Spinning Wheel and Aspen Ridge Resort, said he expects business activity to rise this summer.

He said that increased tourism and renewed boating activity could eventually support higher property values.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see them creeping a little higher, even for this year and going forward,” Gowler said of cabin prices.

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