Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeReal EstateBuilders group credits HST rebate for 130% jump in new home sales in Ontario8,410 new homes sold across the province in the three months ending June 30 — up from 3,645 a year earlierLast updated 59 minutes ago You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.A home for sale on Beach Boulevard in Hamilton, Ont. Photo by Peter Power/Postmedia filesNew home sales across Ontario more than doubled in the second quarter from a year ago, an increase the building industry largely attributes to the enhanced HST rebate that came into play this spring.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorAccording to sales data collected by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), Ontario Home Builders Association (OHBA) and Altus Group, 8,410 new homes sold across the province in the three months ending June 30 — up 130 per cent from 3,645 a year earlier.The group said the additional 4,765 year-over-year home sales were “incremental” and “directly attributable” to the HST program, which began April 1 and took full effect in late June.SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: FP West: Energy Insider brings you behind the oilpatch’s closed doors with exclusive insights from insiders every Wednesday morning.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. 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Please try againThe enhanced rebate removes the federal and provincial portions of the HST on eligible new homes priced up to $1 million, providing buyers up to $130,000 in tax relief.“It is incredibly positive to know that 4,765 families across Ontario were able to purchase new homes as a result of the enhanced HST rebate program,” Justin Sherwood, chief operating officer of BILD, said in a release.The industry group said the evidence that buyers were responding to the tax relief is “clear and direct.”In an email, Sherwood said the 4,765 figure was based on several factors, including feedback from BILD members (builders and developers), who reported increased foot traffic and buyer interest, as well as economic modelling conducted by Peter Norman, principal at Norman Economic Strategies Inc.Asked whether the group was crediting the entire year-over-year quarterly increase to the tax measure, Sherwood said, “No other market condition has changed aside from the HST rebate program beginning on April 1.”“The modelling we developed in February anticipated a further decline in sales in the GTA, and at best flat year over year,” he said. “(From) that analysis, (along) with the feedback from developers, the assessment of Altus, and the change in buyer behaviour starting April 1, we are concluding that very nearly all the incremental is attributable to the new measure.”The modelling component published by Norman in February, before the rebate took effect, sought to estimate how much additional housing demand could be unlocked by policies that improved affordability.His analysis estimated that deteriorating affordability between 2016 and 2026 had suppressed demand for roughly 35,000 additional households a year in Ontario. Norman concluded that reversing more than half of the deterioration in affordability could release roughly half of the pent-up demand.He estimated that a combination of HST relief for buyers and lower development charges for builders could generate between 18,000 and 23,000 additional new home sales annually.“The market response in the first quarter of the program provides confidence that we are well on track to meet the economic and affordability impacts as outlined in February 2026,” the group said in today’s report.BILD and OHBA said the additional new home sales also helped protect an estimated 17,300 construction jobs in the first three months of the program, from April through June, while preserving roughly $2.8 billion in GDP and approximately $1.4 billion in government revenues.The industry expects a further boost as municipalities roll out reductions in development charges, another measure aimed at lowering the cost of building.Those reductions are not yet reflected in the second-quarter figures, according to OHBA chief executive Scott Andison, who noted that details of Toronto’s program — the first to be announced — were only released on June 23.“We are likely to see a further economic boost as home builders get more shovels in the ground and the cost to build becomes more affordable,” Andison said. 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