Canada’s cottage and summer home market is finally heating up, despite the drawbacks of a particularly harsh winter and late spring.

According to the 2014 Royal LePage Recreational Report released today, low interest rates have created a stronger demand for recreational properties and, while sale prices haven’t seen a substantial uptick, the realty company says its brokers have reported a rise in both sales and inventory.

In a press release, which itself was delayed, the company said its advisors “are reporting a significant increase in buyer interest and are anticipating the return of a healthy market for the remainder of the spring and summer.”

"Post-recession, our research found that incremental sales were driven largely by low interest rates and investors,” Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services, said in the press release. “With the 2014 market, we are seeing a return to primarily lifestyle-driven demand for cottages, cabins and chalets. Canadians continue to seek the opportunity to escape to a weekend retreat.”

Though the report did not specify any numbers, Soper said new Canadian opportunities are drawing investors back home.

"Sharp rises in the price of recreational properties in U.S. regions favoured by Canadians, such as Arizona, Florida and California, coupled with a lower Canadian dollar relative to the American currency, is beginning to impact our domestic recreational market," Soper said. "People who were previously wooed by bargain shopping for real estate south of the border are finding the real deals are now at home."