This week Ontario decided to extend the HST rebate on new homes and builders are calling it a game-changer. The struggling housing market is making divorce more difficult both financially and emotionally. We also look at whether aging at home costs less than moving to a retirement facility and highlight one property that caught our attention.
Ontario to extend full HST rebate to new homes under $1-million
Builders are happy about the Ontario government’s decision to expand the HST rebate to more home buyers. Before this change only first-time buyers who planned to live in their new homes could get a full rebate on the 13 percent federal-provincial harmonized sales tax if their homes cost up to one million dollars or a partial rebate on homes up to 1.5 million dollars. Now repeat buyers who plan to live in their new homes and some investors who plan to rent out their units can also get the HST rebate.
The price cap for partial rebates has been raised to 1.85 million dollars. Rachelle Younglai and Shane Dingman and Jeff Gray report that this is welcome news for the building industry. Justin Sherwood is the chief operating officer with trade group Building Industry and Land Development Association. He told them that they believe this to be a game changer. The expanded tax rebate is precisely what the industry needs right now to increase affordability and increase sales & stimulate construction activity and protect jobs. Ottawa’s GST rebate for first-time buyers of new homes priced up to one million dollars or partially up to 1.5 million dollars became law earlier this month.
However homebuilders are less confident about its impacts on the condo industry. Savings up to 50000 dollars could entice some first-time buyers to take the plunge. But as Rachelle reports builders say it is likely not enough to boost the overall market which has primarily relied on investors. Jeff Paikin is president and co-founder of New Horizon Development Group. He said it is not going to help the condo business at all. Read more about the GST rebate here.
Merav Richter & her estranged husband decided to keep living together for 18 months between their separation and divorce. Looking back she realized this decision was less about what worked best for them and their children and more about the value of their family home. In their Toronto suburb steep rents and inflated home prices made living separately seem impossible financially.
But Richter told Carolyn Ireland that the emotional toll was also a high price to pay. She said it was really too bad because she felt it could have been amicable if they had not been in the same house. The slumping market is making the already difficult task of divorcing and selling the family home even harder. This includes everything from disagreements over listing prices and strategies to using the house as revenge. Lawyers are seeing an increase in tension between separating spouses because of the downturn in the real estate market. Carolyn told me she was surprised at the lengths people will go to in order to thwart a sale.
This is especially true for partners who have not accepted that the marriage is over. In many cases they are sabotaging their own financial future. However Carolyn reports that there are several ways to help make the process less painful. Hiring a mediator and laying out a separation or cohabitation agreement can help. Working together to make sure the home is in good condition can help both spouses get the best deal. Richter and her now ex-husband worked with Bram Sandow who is a real estate agent who has made somewhat of a niche handling divorce sales. They were able to sell their home in 2024 over asking price with multiple offers.
Home or retirement residence? Calculate what you’ll really pay as you age
Perhaps no generation of Canadians has loved their houses more than baby boomers but many have not confronted whether they can afford staying in them through their golden years. Rob Carrick writes that it is time for a price check on your plans to age at home rather than a retirement facility.
The new Cost of Ageing Calculator from the National Institute of Ageing at Toronto Metropolitan University can help you take stock of what your lifestyle will cost depending on where you live. It shows retiring in a family home is the most cost-efficient option but those savings can fade quickly depending on how many hours of paid personal support you may require for your health and taking care of the house.
Retirement homes also have benefits including none of the demands or risk of exceptional maintenance costs of homeownership. Rob argues that these numbers tell us that ageing at home is as much a financial calculation as a lifestyle and health & safety choice. The complication in making choices about ageing is that it is hard to mentally engage with your future infirmity. Read his full column & advice here.
