Ontario New Home Sales See Positive Uptick in Q2

Homebuyers across Ontario are responding positively to the enhanced HST rebate program, with new home sales rising 130 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter.

Of the 8,410 new home sales recorded between April and June, 4,765 were incremental sales attributable to the HST rebate program, according to a report compiled by Norman Economic Strategies Inc. The report is based on sales data collected by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) and Altus Group. By comparison, there were 3,645 new home sales during the same period in 2025.

“The historic buying opportunity that the HST rebate program presents cannot be understated,” says BILD chief operating officer Justin Sherwood. “As a result of the additional new home sales in the second quarter of 2026, it is estimated that in the first months of the program, 17,300 jobs in the construction industry were protected, around $2.8 billion in GDP was preserved and approximately $1.4 billion in gross government revenues was maintained.”

The provincial-federal enhanced HST rebate program exempts the sales tax — the eight per cent provincial portion plus the five per cent top-up equivalent — on all new homes priced below $1 million, providing a maximum savings of $130,000.

The program applies to qualifying agreements of purchase and sale or owner-built construction started between April 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027. Although the rules took effect retroactively on April 1, the program did not achieve full administrative and legal certainty until late June.