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The presidents of the Windsor Essex Home Builders’ Association (WEHBA) and the Windsor Essex County Association of Realtors (WECAR) welcome the federal Conservatives’ proposal to eliminate the GST on new home construction, but caution it shouldn’t come at the expense of existing programs.
“It’s a great idea,” said WEHBA president Brent Klundert, who added it’s something builders across the country have been requesting. Nixing the GST will save local buyers an average of $40,000 to $50,000 and directly improve affordability, they said.
“The more we eliminate or minimize taxes on a new home, the more it’ll affect affordability of all homes going forward,” said Klundert.
WECAR president Maggie Chen called the plan “great news for Windsor and Essex County buyers and builders.”
Chen said the appeal of the program is the immediacy of the impact on buyers it will have if implemented.
“The main problem for the home ownership dream is affordability,” Chen said. “This proposal directly impacts affordability.
“Any policy at any level of government by any party that directly targets improving affordability is helpful. This is going to save buyers tens of thousands of dollars.”
The proposal by the official Opposition party, currently riding high in the polls, would remove the GST on any newly built home priced up to $1 million.
But both Klundert and Chen caution the Conservatives about scrapping or reducing existing federal housing programs to pay for the proposal.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said Monday one way of financing a portion of his party’s GST plan would be by eliminating the Liberals’ current $5-billion Housing Accelerator Fund, which offers municipalities millions if they agree to zoning changes to increase densification to fourplexes by right of way.
“A lot of the Housing Accelerator funding is going to the municipal level to increase supply (by building supporting infrastructure),” Klundert said. “Those measures need to stay in place.
“If any funding is cut, that would further constrain supply — we could still be in trouble.”
Eliminating the GST on housing purchases, however, would have a ripple effect in the housing market beyond new construction, said Chen.
Those buying newly built homes generally will have a home to sell, thus expanding the inventory of available re-sale houses.
