Affordability remains a persistent challenge for first-time buyers in Ontario. However, conditions are beginning to shift, with rising inventory, modest price adjustments across the province, and lower interest rates creating a more favourable environment for those ready to enter the market.

To add to this momentum, the Ontario government has proposed an HST rebate for first-time buyers, in the firm of a full rebate of the 8% provincial portion of the HST on newly built or substantially renovated homes valued up to $1 million. For buyers eager to make their move, this could be a step in the right direction to boost affordability and confidence. When combined with the federal 5% HST rebate, buyers could save up to $130,000 off the cost of a new home. These measures are designed to reduce upfront costs and encourage construction. Still, affordability challenges remain a key barrier, raising the question: Will it be enough to bring first-time buyers back into the market? REMAX research shows that 54% of Canadians believe this fall is a good time to strike a deal and incentives like this could further encourage first-time buyers to act. 

Looking ahead to 2026, the Greater Toronto Area is expected to shift toward a balanced-to-buyer market, with conditions offering more opportunities for buyers while still maintaining steady demand. Price adjustments and lower interest rates are likely to support affordability, encouraging renewed activity across both entry-level and move-up segments.

The top three neighbourhoods expected to be most desirable in 2026 are Waterfront Communities (West of Yonge), the Bay Street Corridor, and the University area. The return to in-person work for government and finance employees, combined with price adjustments and lower interest rates, is making the condo and apartment market more accessible, driving renewed demand in these urban, transit-connected areas.

Carbon monoxide detectors save lives, and most provinces require them in your home. So it’s important to understand the rules and regulations that your region has in place. Starting Jan. 1, 2026, Ontario will be implementing new carbon monoxide regulations to keep residents safe from the ‘silent killer.’

“A major update that’s going to impact most people, I would say, is the addition of the requirement to have it on every level of your house,” says Scott Dalzell, Division Chief at Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services. “So, you know, a typical two- or three-story house, you’re going to have one basement level, main floor, second floor, and so on.”

More than 35,000 households left the Greater Toronto Area for other parts of Canada last year with Simcoe County, Hamilton and Calgary topping the list of destinations, new data obtained by CTV News Toronto shows.

The data compiled by Environics Analytics, a marketing and analytical services company owned by Bell Canada, found that nearly 250,000 GTA households moved between the first quarters of 2024 and 2025, however the vast majority of those relocations were within the same census area – for example a Toronto resident moving to another neighbourhood within the city.

Of the 68,173 households that moved to another region, about 51.5 per cent (35,140) left the GTA altogether. Meanwhile, 48.5 per cent (33,033) relocated to other regions within the GTA.

Inventory has been building in the market for two years, especially in Ontario and British Columbia, where homes for sale reached a decades high in the spring, said Robert Hogue, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada.

However, new listings have now begun to moderate and were down 1.4 per cent nationally in October from the month before.

“The minister has communicated that the target there, he’s softened, said that target is no longer a hard target, but that we’re going to continue to move forward on building as many homes as we can,” Bethlenfalvy said.

In the spring budget, the province expected to see 71,800 homes built this year — already far off the pace needed to reach 1.5 million, but now it projects an even lower 64,300.

Projections for the next few years are also low, with 70,200 new homes expected next year, 79,600 projected in 2027 and 83,700 expected in 2028.

In 2024, CREA forecast a recovery year in Canada’s resale housing markets, fueled by pent-up demand and lower interest rates. By mid-fall 2024 the rebound appeared to be underway. That forecast would have seen national home sales once again top the 500,000 mark in 2025, and the average price of those sales return to the $700,000 range.

In early 2025, tariff chaos and economic uncertainty returned many home buyers back to the sidelines, taking particularly large bites out of activity in British Columbia and Ontario, while putting additional downward pressure on prices.

September’s rate cut sparked optimism, leading to a rise in new listings in October. However, buyer demand hasn’t kept pace, with many homes lingering due to pricing mismatches.

TRREB reported 6,138 sales in October 2025 — down 9.5% year-over-year — while new listings rose 2.7% to 16,069, highlighting growing supply.

The Bank of Canada’s consecutive rate cuts aim to restore confidence and affordability. While this may gradually draw buyers back, recovery is expected to be slow. Those with stable finances are best positioned to benefit, though caution remains amid broader economic uncertainty.

Ontario’s housing minister is considering stepping in to quash a proposed rental development at Toronto’s northern city limits, over concerns raised by a pharmaceutical company.

CBC Toronto first reported in 2022 about Sanofi Pasteur’s opposition to a three-building, highrise project at the corner of Steeles Ave. W. and Dufferin St., neighbouring its sprawling complex.  At the time, the company claimed there’s a “national security” risk having hundreds of residents able to look down on its facilities, where vaccine research and development takes place. 

Now Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation and trades, is asking the housing minister to issue a minister’s zoning order (MZO) to limit building heights at the property to 33 metres (or about 10 storeys). 

Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday announced seven more initiatives he’s recommending for fast-tracked approval by the government’s Major Projects Office (MPO) — including multibillion-dollar energy and natural resources proposals that Ottawa hopes will deliver a jolt to the tariff-hit economy.

Carney said this latest round of projects will help the country become more economically self-sufficient, in the face of U.S. aggression, and a powerhouse player in high-demand critical minerals.

The seven initiatives, along with the five Carney recommended for approval in September, are worth a combined $116 billion to the economy, according to government figures.