The HST rebate program is doing something in the low-rise market. In the high-rise sector, the jury's still out.
New data released today by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) shows April 2026 was a turning point for single-family home sales in the Greater Toronto Area — the first month in three years that the low-rise sector surpassed its 10-year average. The milestone comes less than a month after Ontario's enhanced HST rebate program took effect on April 1.
According to Altus Group, BILD's official source for new home market intelligence, there were 901 single-family home sales in the GTA in April — a significant year-over-year increase and 21% above the 10-year average for the segment. Single-family homes include detached, linked, and semi-detached houses and townhouses (excluding stacked townhouses).
The condominium market is a different story. Condo apartments — including units in low, medium, and high-rise buildings and stacked townhouses — accounted for just 199 sales in April, sitting 88% below the 10-year average. Total new home sales across all product types came in at 1,100 units for the month, which, while a notable jump from the record low recorded in April 2025, remains 55% below the historical average of 2,418 units for a typical April in the GTA.
"April new home sales across the GTA responded to the new HST rebate program as sales showed a noticeable increase, most noticeably in the single-family sector," said Edward Jegg, Research Manager at Altus Group. "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."
Jegg added that given the buildup of pent-up demand over the past several years, the positive momentum of April is expected to continue — particularly once prospective buyers have full transparency on how the HST rebate will be implemented.
That implementation gap is the sticking point right now, especially for condos.
"The rebate program came into effect on April 1 and seeing the immediate increase in low-rise sales is a testament to buyer appetite for new homes and greater affordability in the market," said Justin Sherwood, Chief Operating Officer at BILD. "The more modest response in the high-rise sector will be alleviated once implementation details related to the HST rebate are finalized."
Sherwood called on the government to move quickly on providing clarity around program details, eligibility requirements, appropriate forms, and rebate mechanisms so that builders and buyers can implement the rebate with confidence.
On the inventory side, total new home remaining inventory in the GTA dipped below the 20,000-unit mark for just the second time in 22 months, landing at 19,044 units in April. That breaks down to 13,331 condominium apartment units and 5,713 single-family dwellings — representing a combined 31 months of inventory based on average sales over the last 12 months. Worth noting: that figure is inflated by the extended period of historically low sales activity. As monthly sales volumes recover, the months of inventory number is expected to drop quickly.
On pricing, the April benchmark for new condominium apartments held at $1,029,164 — what Altus Group describes as an apparent price floor. The benchmark for new single-family homes came in at $1,421,835, down 7.1% over the previous 12 months. Both figures reflect gross prices and don't account for any HST rebate savings a qualifying purchaser would receive.
In Simcoe County, April saw 62 single-family new home sales and one condominium apartment sale, with a weighted average price of $1,162,217 for single-family homes in the region.
