Is Bigger Better When Buying a Waterfront Home?

When someone asks whether bigger is better, the first question is: bigger what?

More land?

More shoreline?

A larger house?

More room for boats, grandchildren and the friends who suddenly become very available once you buy a place on the lake?

Those are different things. And with the waterfront, that distinction is worth paying attention to.

A waterfront property is both a home and a relationship with the water. The house is a high priority, of course. But so is the land, the shoreline, the access and the way you’ll actually want to use them.

Square footage is easy to calculate. A good Saturday on the water easily doing all the things you love is harder to put in a spreadsheet.

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Waterfront footage is valuable. But is it usable?

Waterfront frontage is measured in linear feet, and it can be one of the most valuable parts of a property. As the saying goes, they aren’t making any more waterfront land.

But frontage on paper and waterfront you can enjoy are not always the same thing.

Is the shoreline a sandy, gradual beach where the family can swim?
Is there good water depth at the dock?
Or is it mostly a view from the house, with a long, steep or awkward route down to the water?

A property with impressive footage may have a very different feel from one with less frontage but easier access and a shoreline that suits how you want to spend your time. You can see this plainly in our latest waterfront listing at 247 Lakeshore Road West in Oro-Medonte.

We have competitive listings and some have more frontage than this one, but ours is very usable and accessible with a beach (if you don’t have a beach these days with conservation authority oversight, you can’t create it) and also has good dock depth for boats and enough space to be private.

Even MPAC’s waterfront site-feature information recognizes details such as exposure, shoreline quality, erosion, beach and permanent docking. The frontage deserves your love and attention. So does what you can do with it.

Think about the waterfront you dream of using. Swimming, boating, paddleboarding, fishing, sitting by the shore, or simply enjoying the view? Whatever you are all about.

A rocky or deep-water shoreline might be perfect for one buyer and a disappointment to another. The right answer depends on your plans; not on which feature sounds most impressive in a listing.

Thinking about buying a home on the waterfront? You have plenty of options here in Barrie!

More land can mean more options and more to check

A larger lot can offer privacy, room to spread out, space for outdoor living and a little more breathing room from the neighbours. On waterfront, that extra land may also matter if you want room for a garage, a bunkie or an addition.
But don’t assume that more land automatically means more building potential.

Waterfront properties can be subject to municipal zoning, setbacks and conservation-authority rules. If you’re counting on adding a wing to the house or building an outbuilding later, check what is permitted before you buy. In regulated areas, work near a lake- including construction, grading or placing and removing material- may require conservation authority approval, and municipal requirements may apply as well.

Sometimes buying a larger home or garage that already has the space you need is the sensible choice, especially if there is little or no room to expand. Just confirm that existing structures and improvements are properly documented. A future plan is definitely not the same thing as an approved plan.

More house should serve the way you live

A larger home can make waterfront life far more comfortable. If your family gathers there, if guests stay for a week instead of an afternoon. Or if you want separate space for different relatives (lol) or generations, extra bedrooms and baths may be worth every square foot.

Think honestly about who will come and stay, and how often. A home used by a large family every summer has different space needs from one enjoyed by a couple on weekends. There is no award for buying the most guest rooms. Relatives can be enthusiastic about extra beds, particularly when someone else is paying for them!

The layout matters as much as the size.

Does the kitchen connect naturally to the deck where you will be serving on most nights?
Can you see the water from the rooms where you spend time?
Is there practical storage for towels, life jackets and the rest of the gear that seems to arrive with a waterfront?

And then there are the windows. Big windows, and lots of them, can make a home feel bright and keep the view front and centre. That is exactly the point.

They can also mean more heat gain in summer, more heat loss in winter, and more sunlight on hardwood floors and furnishings. Sometimes you have to choose between protecting the floor and enjoying the view. There are worse problems to have, but it’s still useful to know what you’re buying.

Bigger can mean more to maintain

More rooms mean more space to heat, cool, furnish and maintain. A larger property can also bring more landscaping, decks, shoreline structures, docks and equipment to look after. Waterfront ownership has its rewards. It also has a way of introducing you to the weekly maintenance schedule.

In our home buyer mortgage guide, we discussed the difference between what a lender may approve and what feels comfortable to own. The purchase price is only one part of the decision. Consider the annual costs and upkeep, not just the number of bedrooms you can fit into your budget.

If the home has a private well, check the well information and arrange appropriate drinking water testing.
If there is a septic system, get the available records and have it assessed.
And if your plans include more bedrooms, a second unit or a future addition, check whether the system can support the increased use. Approvals and capacity are usually tied to the number of beds.

The listing can show you the numbers. It can’t show you the whole experience.

In our recent blog about The Top Real Estate Apps and How They Work (or Don’t), we talked about how online information is a useful starting point, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.

A listing description can give you the frontage and square footage. It cannot tell you how the shore feels underfoot, whether the access is easy, where the afternoon sun lands or what the property feels like when the water is busy. (Well, I guess our listings do describe that, but most do not!)

Reading the description and understanding what the house is all about requires a closer look and local knowledge. Waterfront homes aren’t interchangeable just because they share a postal code or a similar house size. The shoreline, exposure, water depth, privacy and permitted uses can all change the experience.

Looking for more advice before buying your next home? Start with the posts below:

A starting point for all decisions

Bigger is better, sometimes. If more land gives you the privacy and flexibility you want, or a bigger house gives your family the room it needs, then bigger may be the right choice.

But the best waterfront purchase isn’t decided by house size alone. Look at the land, the usable shoreline and the home as separate parts of the decision. Then ask whether all three fit the way you want to live it out.

You can update a kitchen. You can sometimes change a floor plan.

You can’t create more shoreline, and correcting a steep access, or adding the building you had in mind are not necessarily easy tasks. Before you buy, know which features you can change and which ones come with the property.

We’ve written before about how real estate apps can show you the numbers without explaining what they mean. Waterfront is where that difference becomes especially clear. From Barrie and Oro-Medonte to Innisfil, Ramara and the surrounding area, every stretch of shoreline has its own character.

The largest property may give you the largest house. The RIGHT property gives you the waterfront experience you actually wanted.

Whatever your next steps may be, our Barrie real estate agents are happy to help. Reach out to us today at 705.305.4174 or email hello@weeksgroup.ca to begin a conversation.

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Is Bigger Better When Buying a Waterfront Home?

Waterfront footage is valuable. But is it usable?