Is The HST Rebate Working?

🤔 Is The HST Rebate Working?

Source: CBC

The 411: Ontario’s HST rebate gave GTA new home sales a noticeable boost in month one, but almost all the momentum came from single-family homes, not condos.The federal government is investing more than $5 billion in B.C. infrastructure over the next 10 years.

• GTA new home sales jumped to 1,100 units in April, nearly triple last year’s 384 sales.

• Single-family home sales surged to 901 units, up sharply from just 241 a year ago.

• Condo sales rose only modestly to 199 units, compared with 143 last year.

• Single-family sales are now above the 10-year April average of 744 units.

• Condo sales remain far below their 10-year April average of 1,673 units.

• The rebate removes the full 13% HST on eligible new homes priced up to $1 million.

• The federal portion of the rebate still hasn’t fully passed, leaving implementation details unclear.

Why This Matters: The HST rebate is working, but only in parts of the market. Buyers are clearly responding to tax savings on low-rise homes, while condos remain deeply out of favour.

💰 Homes Under $500K Are Back

Source: Municipal Property Assessment Corporation

The 411: : Homes under $500K are making up a bigger share of Ontario’s market again, but mostly because condo prices are sliding.

• Homes valued under $500K now make up nearly 24% of Ontario’s market, up from 17% in 2022.

• That is still nowhere near 2016, when 67% of homes were under $500K.

• The share of homes over $1M has dropped from 35% in 2022 to about 25% today.

• Condos are driving most of the “affordability” shift, with 46% now valued under $500K, up from 24% in 2022.

• Other home types are still much less accessible. Only 5% of townhomes, 15% of semis, and 18% of detached homes are under $500K.

• More Ontario communities are moving below the $750K median value mark, including Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Hamilton, Collingwood, Kawartha Lakes, Gravenhurst, and Brock.

Why This Matters: Ontario’s market is getting cheaper, but not evenly. Condos are creating most of the new sub-$500K options, while family-sized homes remain far out of reach. That means affordability is improving, but the type of housing people actually want may still be missing.

🧾 Hamilton’s Airbnb Tax Begins

Source: The Hamilton Spectator

The 411: Hamilton will start charging a 4% municipal accommodation tax on licensed short-term rentals starting July 1.

• The tax applies to Airbnb, Vrbo, and other short-term rentals booked for fewer than 30 nights.

• Guests will pay the 4% charge as part of their booking fee.

• Hotels in Hamilton have already paid the tax since 2023, but short-term rentals were delayed.

• The city says the delay was tied to creating a licensing framework and getting a list of operators.

• Hamilton now has 72 licensed short-term rentals.

• Existing bookings made before July 1 will not be charged, but new bookings after that date will be.

• Half of the tax revenue must go to Hamilton’s tourism corporation.

• The rest will support tourism projects, events, and city marketing.

Why This Matters: Hamilton is bringing short-term rentals into the same tax bucket as hotels. It makes Airbnb stays slightly pricier for guests, but also gives the city another way to fund tourism and major events. It also shows municipalities are getting more serious about regulating short-term rentals.