Ontario’s Housing Reset: Condos, Confidence, and the Supply Gap

The Development Charge Relief: Helpful, but not a Silver Bullet

The big headline this year has been the government’s development charge rebate: higher levels of government picking up half the DC tab to jumpstart construction. Jasmine appreciates the gesture but tempers expectations. The rebate only applies to municipalities that opt in, it’s temporary, and the implementation is confusing, especially on the high-rise side, where HST was baked into condo pricing long ago.

Where it actually helps is in the low-rise suburban market - shaving costs on 905-area townhouse developments genuinely changes what’s financially viable. For condos? Not so much, not when developers paid $200-plus per buildable square foot for land realistically worth $60 to $90 per square foot.