The April 1 launch of Ontario’s HST rebate has sparked a new home sales surge in the Greater Toronto Area. According to April 2026 data from the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), there were 1,100 total sales, up significantly from the record low of April 2025, but 55 per cent below the 10-year average. The increase was particularly seen in the low-rise sector.
Last month, there were 901 single-family home sales in the GTA, a significant year-over-year increase and 21 per cent above the 10-year average. However, the rebate had a more limited effect on the condo market. Condo apartments in low, medium, and high-rise buildings, and stacked townhouses, accounted for only 199 units sold in April, 88 per cent below the 10-year average.
Justin Sherwood, chief operating officer at BILD, projects the more modest response in the high-rise sector will be alleviated once implementation details related to the HST rebate are finalized.
“It is now imperative the government provide clarity as quickly as possible on the program details, eligibility requirements, appropriate forms and rebate mechanisms to allow builders and buyers to seamlessly implement the HST rebate,” he urged. “Doing this will further enhance the progress we are seeing in low-rise and boost high-rise new homes, leading to even greater activity in the market.”
The GTA’s remaining inventory of new homes dipped below the 20,000 mark for the second time in 22 months with 19,044 units for April. This includes 13,331 condo units and 5,713 single-family dwellings, representing a combined inventory level of 31 months, based on average sales for the last 12 months.
“When sales increase after a prolonged period of very low sales, the months of inventory statistics should be viewed with caution as it is based on dividing present inventory by the average of the past 12 months of sales activity (which have been very low),” stated BILD. “We anticipate that as sales increase, the months of inventory statistics will decrease rapidly.”
The benchmark price for new condo units in April was $1,029,164. The price for new single-family homes was $1,421,835, which was down 7.1 per cent over the last 12 months. BILD said these are gross prices, not reflective of any HST rebate, in order to facilitate a like-on-like comparison with previous years. Purchasers who qualify for an HST rebate would realize additional benefit from this rebate.
“Pricing continued to be competitive, with nearly like-for-like prices before and after the introduction of the rebate – suggesting the full rebate was flowing through to consumers,” said Edward Jegg, research manager at Altus Group. “With the build-up of pent-up demand over the past years, the positive momentum of April is expected to continue and build, especially once prospective buyers have full transparency on the implementation of the HST rebate.”
