The Home of the Week is a big catch in Halifax.Trevor Kennedy/Trevor Kennedy/Eyecapture Images
This week: Ontario’s decision to extend the HST rebate on new homes hailed as a “game-changer” by builders, and the slumping housing market makes divorce even more financially and emotionally taxing. Plus, calculating whether it’s cheaper to age at home or in a retirement facility, and one property worth a look.
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Tax changes
Ontario to extend full HST rebate to new homes under $1-million
Homebuilders say Ontario's HST rebate expansion is a 'game changer' for the preconstruction industry, but aren't as confident about the impacts of the federal GST rebate.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Builders are welcoming the Ontario government’s recent decision to expand the HST rebate to more home-buyers. Previously, only first-time buyers who planned to live in their new homes were eligible for a full rebate on the 13-per-cent federal-provincial harmonized sales tax if their homes were priced up to $1-million, or a partial rebate on those up to $1.5-million.
Now, repeat buyers who plan to live in their new homes and some investors who plan to rent out their units will also be eligible for the HST rebate, and the price cap for partial rebates has been raised to $1.85-million. As Rachelle Younglai, Shane Dingman and Jeff Gray report, it’s welcome news for the building industry. “We believe this to be a game changer,” Justin Sherwood, chief operating officer with trade group Building Industry and Land Development Association, told them. The expanded tax rebate is “precisely what the industry needs right now to increase affordability, increase sales, stimulate construction activity and protect jobs,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ottawa’s GST rebate for first-time buyers of new homes priced up to $1-million (or partially up to $1.5-million) became law earlier this month, but homebuilders are less confident about its impacts on the condo industry. Savings up to $50,000 could entice some first-time buyers to take the plunge, but, as Rachelle reports, builders say it’s likely not enough to boost the overall market, which has primarily relied on investors. “It is not going to help the condo business at all,” said Jeff Paikin, president and co-founder of New Horizon Development Group. Read more about the GST rebate here.
House of heartbreak
For divorcing couples, a soft housing market makes everything harder
Merav Richter now rents a home in Vaughan, Ont. She says in hindsight, she wishes she and her estranged husband had not continued living together in the family home for 18 months before their divorce.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail
Merav Richter and her estranged husband’s decided to keep living together for the 18 months between separation and divorce, a decision that, in hindsight, was less about what was best for them and their children and more about something else: the value of the family home. In their Toronto suburb, steep rents and and inflated home prices made living separately seem financially out of reach. But Richter told Carolyn Ireland the emotional toll was also a high cost to bear. “It’s really too bad,” Richter said. “I feel it could have been amicable if we had not been in the same house.”
From disagreements over listing prices and strategies to using the house as revenge, the slumping market is making the already difficult task of divorcing and selling the family home even more taxing. Lawyers “are seeing an increase in tension between separating spouses because of the downturn in the real estate market,” Carolyn told me. “I’m surprised at the lengths people will go to to thwart a sale – especially partners who haven’t accepted that the marriage is over. In many cases, they are sabotaging their own financial future.”
However, as Carolyn reports, there are several ways to help make the process less painful. Hiring a mediator, laying out a separation or cohabitation agreement and working together to make sure the home is in good condition can both help get the best deal for both spouses. Working with Bram Sandow, a real estate agent who has made somewhat of a niche handling divorce sales, Richter and her now ex-husband were able to sell their home in 2024 over-asking and with multiple offers.
This week’s lowest fixed and variable mortgage rates in Canada
Rates shown are the lowest available for each term/type and category (insured vs. uninsured) as of market close on Thursday, March 26.
Opinion
Home or retirement residence? Calculate what you’ll really pay as you age
Perhaps no generation of Canadians has loved their houses more than baby boomers, but many haven’t confronted whether they can afford staying in them through their golden years. “It’s time for a price check on your plans to age at home rather than a retirement facility,” writes Rob Carrick.
Thankfully, the new Cost of Ageing Calculator from the National Institute of Ageing at Toronto Metropolitan University can help you take stock of what your lifestyle will cost depending on where you live. It shows retiring in a family home is the most cost-efficient option, but those savings can fade quickly depending on how many hours of paid personal support you may require for your health and taking care of the house. Retirement homes also have benefits, including none of the demands – or risk of exceptional maintenance costs – of homeownership.
“These numbers tell us that ageing at home is as much a financial calculation as a lifestyle, health and safety choice,” Rob argues. “The complication in making choices about ageing is that it’s hard to mentally engage with your future infirmity.” Read his full column and advice here.
Design corner
Six trash cans that don’t make your kitchen look rubbish
Choosing your next kitchen trash can doesn't have to be a rubbish job.Supplied
When it comes to kitchen trash talk, trust the designers and cleaners who have bin there, done that. From sorting waste into different categories – compost? plastics? paper? – to fitting into tight spaces and limiting smells, it’s important to find the right receptacle. Here are six trash cans to consider, and expert tips on how to choose one that’s right for you.
Home of the Week
An oceanfront home built from a seafood empire
With more than 10,000 square feet of living space, this coastal Halifax residence is a big catch.Trevor Kennedy/Trevor Kennedy/Eyecapture Images
5964 Emscote Dr., Halifax – Full gallery here
Fishing in troubled waters could land you a big catch, like this grand oceanfront home on Halifax’s narrow coastal inlet known as the Northwest Arm. Clearwater Seafoods magnate John Risley and his wife, skin-care maven Amy Gordinier, worked with interior designer Philip Mitchell to build a residence with the appearance of a heritage home standing at the water’s edge for generations. The three-storey, four-bedroom home was completed in 2019, and was listed for sale in late February after Risley’s holding company filed for creditor protection.
With more than 10,000 square feet of living space, 11 fireplaces and a lantern-topped breakfast room positioned to take advantage of the morning light, the home is grand in scale. But Mitchell says the goal was to make it “comfortable – not too formal or stately.” Floors made of heritage barn wood add a “rustic casualness” while the brass finishes and fixtures are historically accurate in the playful robin’s egg blue kitchen. Modern comforts are also hidden, with in-floor heating, wet and dry saunas and a dog washing room. Outside, the lot descends to the water’s edge with multiple terraces, providing a spot for cooking, eating or enjoying the views of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron across the inlet.
Guess the price
a. The asking price is $14,900,000.