Doug Ford's flashy HST rebate—up to $130,000 off new condos and townhomes under $1M—kicks in today, April 1, 2026, but slams shut March 31, 2027. First-time GTA buyers: this layers onto your FHSA, RRSP Home Buyers' Plan, and stress-test survival kit, rewriting the math on that $626K condo average. Deadlines don't wait! Here's who qualifies, the caveats, and why "not ready yet" means start a spreadsheet NOW! Toronto housing policy decoded for 2026 first-timers racing the tax-break cliff.
"How do I buy a home?" and "what do I actually want?" aren't the same question... But one has to come before the other. My colleague, Owen Fawcett, helped me realize I had the order wrong.
Tax season has begun... If you didn't know that and want to have your own home someday, get comfortable. I'm giving you an unsolicited crash course: Tax Stuff for First-Time Buyers 101.
A 24-year-old renter insists on demystifying the apparatus of homeownership through market data, policy, and candour. In the process, she reckons with what it means to take root somewhere.