Ontario Tax Relief Spurs New Homes

In Ontario, taxes and government charges made up ~36% of a new home's cost, putting >one-third of the price beyond core building expenses.
Development charges were a major pressure point, topping $100K per single-family home in many municipalities and, with other levies, adding as much as $200K.
A joint federal-provincial program let municipalities access funding if they cut residential development charges by 30%-50% or more and kept those reductions for three years.
After the HST cut, Ontario logged 8.4K new home sales in the first three mo, versus 3.6K in the same period yearly.
Making the HST rebate and lower development charges permanent could give buyers, builders, and municipalities the certainty needed to improve affordability and housing supply.