If you’ve been watching Collingwood transform over the past 15 years, you know what a town looks like right before property values really move. The Village at Blue Mountain, the boutique hotels, the year-round lifestyle draws. People who bought in early did very well.

I live in Wasaga Beach. I sell real estate here every day. And I’ll tell you this plainly: what I’m seeing on the ground right now reminds me a lot of what Collingwood looked like a decade ago.

Here’s what’s actually happening.

Costco is coming. Construction starts this spring.

Costco Wholesale has been cleared to begin construction at 345 Lyons Court after the Town issued a building permit for its new $50 million location. It’s expected to bring over 370 jobs to the community and is one of the most significant private-sector investments in Wasaga Beach’s history, with doors expected to open as early as fall 2026. 

That’s not a rumour. That’s a building permit.

A Marriott hotel is being built on the beachfront.

Sunray Group is building a premium Marriott Hotel on Beach Drive, along with shops, restaurants, and other amenities, beginning in early 2026. It sits alongside Stonebridge Building Group’s new mixed-use village near Beach Area 1, which includes over 150 residential units and 31 commercial units. 

For context, the Village at Blue Mountain is one of the biggest reasons Collingwood became a year-round destination. Wasaga Beach’s vision for Beach Area 1 was directly inspired by the Village at Blue Mountain model.  That’s not an accident.

The province just invested $355M+ in Wasaga Beach.

Destination Wasaga is supported by nearly $38 million from the Province of Ontario, Sunray Group’s approximately $60 million Marriott hotel investment, and Stonebridge Building Group’s $90 million mixed-use development near Beach Drive.  On top of that, $10.9 million is going toward rebuilding Beach Drive and making it flood and climate-resilient. 

This is not a town that is sitting still.

New high schools are finally being built.

This is a big one for families, and it’s something people relocating here ask me about constantly. Shovels are going in the ground on two long-awaited new high schools in 2026.  Through a partnership with the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, Wasaga Beach will open its first high school in September 2027. 

For years, the lack of a local high school was a reason some families chose Collingwood or Barrie instead. That objection is going away.

The town has a 30-year growth plan.

Wasaga Beach adopted a new Official Plan in November 2025 that will guide how the community grows through 2051. The town’s population is anticipated to double over the next 30 years. 

Doubling. Over 30 years. That’s the kind of trajectory that smart buyers get ahead of.

So is Wasaga Beach the next Collingwood?

Not exactly. It’s going to be its own thing. Wasaga has the longest freshwater beach in the world, which Collingwood doesn’t. It has a completely different energy. But the fundamentals that made Collingwood attractive to buyers 10 to 15 years ago, a town with serious infrastructure investment, a shift toward year-round lifestyle, and a government that was actively backing growth, those fundamentals are all present in Wasaga Beach right now.

The buyers I work with who are paying attention are making moves. The ones who are waiting for prices to prove it will pay more later.

If you’re thinking about buying in the Wasaga Beach area and want a straight conversation about what’s available and what the numbers look like, I’m easy to reach.

Matthew Zuccarini

Zuccarini Realty Group | RE/MAX Experts

705-998-2048