Listen to this article
Estimated 2 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Home builders in Ottawa say their sales offices in new developments are getting busier as more buyers take advantage of HST relief on new home purchases.
A report from the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) shows 744 new homes were sold in April, up more than 160 per cent from the previous month. Sales in the Greater Toronto Area showed similar growth in April.
The jump is being credited to a federal and provincial tax relief program that went into effect that same month. It cuts the HST on new home sales in Ontario, essentially offering 13 per cent off the sales price to a maximum of $130,000.
“It’s really a lot of people who were sort of on the edge of wanting to buy,” said GOHBA’s executive director Jason Burggraaf.
“Now it seems a lot of those people … have now gone ahead and started to sign deals, which is fantastic.”
Jason Burggraaf, executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA), hopes to see the HST-relief on new homes stick around. (Francis Ferland (CBC))
At the Tamarack Homes sales office in Findlay Creek Village, Stephanie Vintinner can watch houses being built from her window while she helps customers looking to buy a new home.
“People love that opportunity, and you get exactly what you want,” she said of new home purchases. “It’s always been kind of an attractive avenue for a lot of people, if it’s attainable, and the rebate really helped that.”
With the first month of the HST rebate window yielding strong results across the province, home builders are advocating for the HST relief on new homes to be extended beyond 2026.
“I’m really hoping that as sales stay strong that that convinces the government that it needs to do this on a longer-term basis,” said Burggraaf.