Author: Dave Merat

Eligible Ontario new-home buyers can receive up to $130K in HST relief, renewing interest in pre-construction condos, semis, and townhouses across today's new-build market.
The full rebate applies up to $1M, remains available to $1.5M, then tapers to $24K for homes at $1.85M+ under current framework rules.
Tax savings do not change lender valuations; if the closing appraisal trails the contract price, buyers must cover any cash shortfall directly.
A federal banking regulator warned old blanket appraisals tied to purchase agreements may become outdated when new-build mortgage originations occur much later.
Buyers can reduce surprises by engaging a mortgage broker early, updating documents, reviewing contracts, budgeting cash reserves, and confirming assignment options with counsel.

Slower sales and softer prices are pushing some Toronto homeowners to renovate rather than sell or move, especially households weighing space or lifestyle changes.
Homeowners want to keep lower mortgage rates and avoid land transfer taxes, agent fees, and uncertainty about whether prices have fully stabilized.
A contractor saw renovation inquiries ↑10% yearly, while some projects cost $15K-$25K more than a year earlier and basement remodels moved from ~$40K to ~$70K.
Homeowners still need room for material swings, skilled-labour shortages, hidden issues in older homes, permit delays, and weeks without a full kitchen or bathroom.
Renovating fits best for families who love their neighbourhood and need layout changes, but experts urged realistic budgets, 10%-20% contingencies, firm scope, and qualified teams.

CMHC expects Toronto sales to increase in 2026, even while prices remain below recent peaks.
Here’s the overlooked part: today’s abundant inventory could give patient buyers more choice and negotiating room.
Royal LePage expects GTA prices to decline 2% by Q4 2026, while activity continues building.
The bigger opportunity may be buying when competition is quiet—not perfectly predicting the market’s bottom.

Halloween falls on October 31 because the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, considered the earliest known root of Halloween, occurred on this day.
In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to praise all saints.
Soon, All Saints' Day incorporated some traditions of Samhain and the evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween.
Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats.
Today’s the day to eat candies and sweets to your heart’s content! Happy Halloween!

Toronto’s aggregate affordability measure improved in Q2, dropping ~1 point to ~64% across housing types, though it still ranked among the least affordable tracked markets.
Income growth drove most of Toronto’s relief, while home prices showed early signs of stabilizing, making this the smallest quarterly improvement since Q1 2024.
Toronto condos offered the most relief, reaching their most favourable affordability level since 2017 and giving buyers a comparatively more reachable entry point.
Even after recent easing, Toronto’s overall affordability burden remained the second worst among tracked markets, sitting within ~1 point of a potential ranking shift.
This was Toronto’s smallest quarterly affordability improvement since the recovery began in Q1 2024, even though the city continued improving faster than most markets.

Brampton, ON made a national best site selection list after recording $318M in investment and creating ~1.3K new jobs in 2025-26 data.
Recent Brampton projects included a climate-control investment of $88.2M that added 700 jobs, plus a $141M bottling project and another 200-job expansion.
The annual designation highlighted communities that attracted investment, supported business expansion, and created high-quality employment opportunities, showing why Brampton earned the designation.
The recognition placed Brampton alongside leading investment destinations across Canada, a notable outcome in a review centered on project activity, capital investment, and jobs.
The evaluation used 2025-26 data from a projects database that tracks qualifying corporate facility investments and measures performance through activity, capital investment, and jobs.