You have visited PEI and like most people you have fallen in love with this little jewel to be found off the east coast of Canada, in an area referred to as the Maritimes. With a population of only 140,000 in the winter and up to 1 million in the summer, many of them summer residents, you may have chosen to join that group or you may have decided that you want to be a year-round resident. With the healthy economy here on the island, despite the general doom and gloom elsewhere, there are jobs to be had or you may be thinking of retiring, selling the family home which is now too big in another part of Canada where real estate prices are higher and enjoying your retirement with the help of the proceeds from the sale and the lower replacement value here.

So what types of properties are available on PEI?

If you are only intending to be on the island during the summer months you will be looking at either a cottage, on the water or not, or most likely a waterfront summer home. What is the difference between a cottage and a summer home? Generally a summer home is a newer construction and will incorporate full insulation. It will be at least a 3 season home and most likely a 4 season. This means that generally you could live the whole year in a summer home whereas a cottage is usually not winterized, some don't even have heating. The question of access if you are intending to live in a recreational property year - round may also be an issue because despite how the home is built, depending on its location, the road may not be plowed out in the winter or even if it is, not on a basis regular enough for most people who are trying to go about life. Remember that, like most of Canada, we do get a winter here and a snowfall that averages 2.5m per year. Also be aware that some homes are in unfortunate locations and despite the attempt to plow, snow drifts around some homes are unmanageable. Try to find out from neighbors the situation where you propose to buy.

If you are intending to make PEI your home then you will either be looking for a single family home in the city, a country home with some acreage, or a waterfront home that may be in the country or in one of the cities.

Homes in the cities can range from very simple and very small homes in the 1000 sq ft or less range up to character, heritage homes, which can be divided into apartments, setup as B&B's or remain single family homes. Prices in Summerside can start in the 40's but you will not get more than a shack for that today and realistically family homes start around 100,000$ and go up from there. Heritage homes range from 300,000$ and up. You should be aware that heritage homes, due to their larger living areas and to the fact that they often have not been well insulated are much more expensive to heat in the winter.

Country homes vary in price but many in the extreme east or west of the island are much cheaper. Basically the prices depend on the size and condition of the home combined with the amount of land and location. The closer to the center of the island and the 2 major cities the higher you will find the pricing. Of course waterfront homes fall into the highest priced PEI real estate. There are waterfront homes to be had both in Charlottetown and Summerside as well as all over the island. The Charlottetown and Summerside waterfront properties are the most expensive but still a good buy when compared to other provinces.

You may wish to consider waterfront property, land that has not yet been built on. This is mainly only available in the more distant reaches now, although you can still get properties that are under-built ie the building on the property is of such poor quality that the land value demands that the building be demolished and the land be developed for better use. Waterfront land may be held undeveloped as a future investment, subdivided and sold as lots, or depending on the size built on for personal use. Just remember that there are land ownership restrictions on PEI real estate for non-residents.

Additionally for those looking for an investment, many of the smaller homes that I mentioned earlier make excellent and easily rented units as well as the character homes in the cities, that may be converted to apartments or purchased in many cases already converted.

For the retiree, there is a wide assortment of nice homes - many on smaller easily managed lots, in the cities and close to conveniences. There are even a few seniors complexes being built - one that comes to mind in Summerside is Bishop's Landing.

Whatever your reason to come to PEI you will never be disappointed and your PEI real estate purchase will continue to appreciate as you appreciate the lifestyle to be found on this island jewel.