Being able to afford a home has become a significant issue for new homebuyers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). On average, government fees and charges amount to more than one-fifth of the cost of a new home, says a new study released by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).

The study looks at a variety of fees and charges in six municipalities across the GTA – Oakville, Brampton, Markham, Bradford-West Gwillimbury, Ajax and Toronto. Both lowrise and highrise new homebuyers are subject to these levies.

On average, the total government charges on a new highrise home amounts to $64,400, according to the study. This represents roughly 20 per cent of the cost of a new highrise home. For a new single-detached home, buyers pay $118,400 in governmental charges, or 23 per cent of a new lowrise home’s cost.

The rates can vary in each municipality, with the cost of government charges ranging from $47,899 in Ajax to $80,472 in Oakville for new highrise homebuyers.

For the municipalities studied in the report, development charges have increased between 143 per cent and 357 per cent since 2004. Many municipalities across the GTA are proposing further increases to their rates, so these charges will likely continue to rise.