THE BLUE MOUNTAINS, ONT. -- Anyone shopping for a home or cottage in Wasaga Beach this summer will quickly discover they are not alone.

Jason Ruttan, a broker with Remax in Wasaga Beach, says properties have been moving quickly, and the number of properties sold in July was way up.

“July was over double what we would normally have for a typical July as we get caught up from that understandably slow period in April and May.”

Residential sales in the region totalled 594 units last month, an increase

of 57.6% from the same time last year. According to The Southern Georgian Bay Association of Realtors, that’s a new sales record for the month of July and the highest for any month in history.

Association President Mike Scholte says with many people working remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, GTA residents are looking north for extra space.

“(There’s) a little bit of a shortage of listings. Buyers who are moving up here are really wanting to settle in. There’s a certain urgency in the market,” Scholte explains.

With demand putting pressure on the housing supply, for sale signs aren’t staying up long.

“It seems as soon as properties hit the market, if they’re anywhere close to appropriately-priced, they are going out and sold as quickly as they’re coming on the market,“ says Andres Paara with Royal Lepage Locations North Brokerage

The market for luxury homes has been hot too, especially in the Blue Mountains, where million-dollar listings have become common.