Ontario HST Rebates Boost New Home Sales

Industry advocates argued Ontario's temporary HST relief showed tax reductions can support affordability, sales activity, and confidence, and said permanent relief would better spur construction.
Builders were described as navigating higher material and labour costs, slow approvals, restrictive rules, and uncertainty, with taxes, fees, and levies a major burden.
The temporary program also faced rollout delays, as builders, developers, and buyers waited for rules and applications, limiting effectiveness while housing activity remained stalled.
Highrise condo projects were portrayed as especially vulnerable, because long development and construction timelines made short-term tax policy less effective for moving projects ahead.
The proposed long-term path for Ontario was permanent HST relief, ideally removing the tax on new homes, to help pursue 1.5M homes by 2031.