Despite the new home industry seeing a boost in sales compared to last year, last month was the second worst March on record for sales of new homes in the GTA.
Home sales in March for condos and freeholds in the GTA totalled 948, a significant increase from the 385 sales in March 2025, led predominantly by more sales in single-family homes. Even so, sales continue to fall far short of 10-year averages, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) said in its Thursday report.
Despite the increase in momentum, last month’s new home sales were still the second worst March on record, but moving forward the harmonized sales tax (HST) rebate “will energize the market for the balance of the year and build on March’s momentum,” the report said.
The expanded HST rebate program begins April 1, meaning March’s sales data does not include the potential boost in sales that experts are expecting from the rebate.
Historically, new home sales for a typical March in the GTA would be 2,659 units based on the previous 10-year average.
“Sales were especially strong at a few projects that had more aggressive pricing, showing that buyers are indeed ready to move off the sidelines under the right conditions,” said Edward Jegg, research manager at Altus Group, BILD’s source for new home market data.
“The waiver of all HST on new home purchases starting April 1 is expected to further incentivize buyers to jump back into the new home market.”
There were 263 condo units sold in March, which is 86 per cent below the 10-year average. There were 160 sales in March 2025.
Single-family homes performed better with 685 sales — a significant year-over-year increase but still 12 per cent below the 10-year average. There were 225 sales in March 2025.
Total new home remaining inventory in the GTA dipped below the 20,000 mark for the first time in 19 months, with 19,733 units available in March.
The inventory level — the time it would take to sell inventory on the market based on current demand — is 29 months. A healthy market level is around nine to 12 months.
The benchmark price for new condos was $1.02 million, remaining at an apparent price floor, and the price for new single-family homes was $1.4 million, which was down 7.7 per cent over the last 12 months.
“While we recognize the progress in new home sales for March, it is important to keep in mind the historical context of these figures,” said Justin Sherwood, chief operating officer at BILD.
“March 2025 was the worst March on record. Although we acknowledge the improvement from last year to this March, it is important to note that the market in March 2026 continued to underperform against 10-year averages. That said, the momentum is a positive indication that we are exiting the doldrums.”
Sherwood noted that early anecdotal evidence from the first half of April points to dramatically increased activity at new home sales centres and increased sales due to the expanded HST rebate.
On March 25, the federal and provincial governments announced they were injecting $2.2 billion into Ontario’s sputtering home construction industry with a one-year break on the HST for buyers of new houses and condos.
This means for one year new home buyers are exempt from the 13 per cent harmonized sales tax on all new homes worth $1 million or less, with the equivalent in savings for new homes up to $1.5 million. It is an expansion of the existing rebate introduced last fall that was only available to first-time buyers of new homes.
“When we combine the increasing momentum of March with the renewed market activity in April, I think we have some exciting things to look forward to,” he said.
