A major housing policy story is now unfolding in Ontario and the GTA. On March 25, 2026, Ontario and the federal government expanded the 13% HST relief on new homes beyond first-time buyers to all buyers of eligible new homes, with the rebate structure applying to homes valued up to $1.5 million and a maximum benefit of $130,000. TRREB called the move a major step forward for affordability.
This matters in the GTA because new-home affordability has been one of the biggest barriers for both end-users and investors. A tax saving of that size can materially change the math for buyers looking at pre-construction or newly built homes, especially in a region where prices often sit near the upper end of affordability. The Ontario budget also described the provincial portion as temporary relief meant to reduce the cost burden on eligible new-home buyers.
The second part of the story may be just as important. On March 30, 2026, Ontario and Canada announced a major partnership tied to housing-enabling infrastructure and development charge reductions of up to 50% in participating municipalities. The City of Toronto said the deal includes measures such as freezing development charges at 2024 levels, eliminating charges for thousands of purpose-built rental units, and reducing taxes on new multi-residential housing.
Why is this hot news? Because development charges can add a huge amount to the cost of new housing. TRREB said these charges can represent up to 20% of a home’s purchase price, so reducing them has the potential to improve project feasibility, boost housing starts, and eventually support affordability across the GTA. The real question now is how quickly these measures translate into more construction and whether buyers will feel the impact in pricing soon enough.