Cottages as a starter home?

It’s tough real estate market to break into, and that may be why young Canadians are turning to recreational properties like cottages in a bid to build wealth and break into the property market, a new survey by Re/Max Canada shows.

Nearly half (45 per cent) of prospective buyers said they plan to buy a recreational property as an entry point into the broader housing market. Meanwhile, more than half (54 per cent) of 18 to 34-year-olds say recreational properties are part of their long-term financial planning goals.

That compares to a much lower figure of 30 per cent for Canadians aged 35 and older.

“Recreational properties are no longer viewed solely as discretionary purchases, but instead as a foothold into homeownership with long-term value potential,” said Don Kottick, president of Re/Max Canada.

Owning these properties may come with some drawbacks though, even if there are financial gains to be made.

Read more about what it really costs to own a recreational property.

Gas prices pushing up inflation

Consumer gas prices in Canada have been hovering close to all-time highs since the war with Iran began in February, which pushed up April’s inflation reading.

Year over year price growth was 2.8 per cent in April, according to Statistics Canada, which is higher than the 2.4 per cent result in March. The agency adds that April saw gas prices increase by 28.6 per cent after a 5.9 per cent gain in March.

Food prices increased 3.5 per cent, but that was a smaller increase than the four per cent bump in March.

Gas and food prices are notoriously volatile, so economists and the Bank of Canada will usually focus on core inflation — which strips those away.

Experts says core inflation in April was something to be taken positively.

Read more about what this means for interest rates in Canada.

The cost of a World Cup soccer match

Soccer fans are gearing up for the FIFA World Cup this summer in North America, including over a dozen games in Canada.

But taxpayers are going to be paying up to host these matches, and they aren’t cheap.

According to a Parliamentary Budget Officer’s analysis, the total cost to host the World Cup in Canada is about $1.1 billion. This mean that each of those games on Canadian soil will cost about $82 million.

That’s actually less than some of the most recent World Cup soccer events, even though it’s almost as much as an NHL team spends on their player salaries each year.

Read more about what the World Cup costs Canadians.