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This hub covers the part of buying a first home that we know best. That is new construction, our communities, and what happens between your first visit and possession day.
It also explains the costs you should plan for, in plain terms. What it does not do is stand in for your lender, your lawyer or an accountant. Where a question belongs to one of them, we say who to ask. The questions page gathers all of those in one place.
What it costs
The lines in a monthly cost beyond the mortgage, deposits, what you pay at closing, and why a lender is your first call.
Start here →New vs resale
New home or resale, compared honestly. Where each one wins, and how to decide for your own situation.
Start here →The Cardel process
Agreement to possession, stage by stage. Your lawyer's review, the design appointment, the pre-delivery inspection, and what happens after you move in.
Start here →Where to start
Our Ontario communities by area and home type, the freehold-or-condominium question, and how to narrow it down to two worth visiting.
Start here →Questions & next steps
The questions to ask a lender, a lawyer, the city and us, with a short checklist for each stage.
Start here →Your monthly cost is more than the mortgage
Most first-time buyers arrive knowing the price and the interest rate. A few more lines belong in the budget from day one.
- Property tax, a yearly city tax based on the assessed value of your home.
- Home insurance, which your lender will require before possession.
- Utilities, which are yours on a freehold home.
- A common-element or condo fee, on some townhome products. Whether one applies depends on the legal tenure of the specific home, so ask.
Two homes at the same price can carry different monthly costs because of these lines. What it costs explains each one and who can give you the number.
A lender can estimate every one of these for a specific home and show you the full monthly picture. That conversation is worth having before you tour, not after.
What we can help you with
Here is what our Ontario team does for a first-time buyer, so you know what to ask us and what to ask someone else.
- Model homes. Walk through finished, furnished homes in each community to see floorplans and finishes in person.
- Quick possession homes. Homes that are built, or nearly built, if you need to move sooner than a full build allows.
- The design centre. If you build from a plan, you choose your finishes with our design team. We explain what is included and what is an option.
- The build process. We walk you through the stages, including the pre-delivery inspection every new Ontario home gets before possession.
- The price, plainly. We will tell you how HST is handled in a price, whether a home is freehold or condominium, and what any common-element fee covers.
- The warranty. Every new home in Ontario is enrolled with Tarion by its builder, and coverage starts at possession. Ask us how to reach our customer care team. [to confirm: Cardel Ontario warranty service contact and process]
What we do not do is set your rate, review your contract, or advise you on taxes or rebates. For those, see who to ask.
Read next on Cardel News
Some topics change too often to live on an evergreen page. The HST rebates on a new home, federal savings programs, the land transfer tax refund, mortgage rules and current offers all move from year to year. We cover them in dated articles on Cardel News, where we can say when each one was last checked.
Our Ontario feed already carries an HST rebate explainer and a first-time buyer GST rebate update. Read the latest Ontario stories on Cardel News
Link the HST rebate and GST rebate articles directly once their URLs are supplied, and confirm the rest of the first-time buyer series. [to confirm: NEWS article URLs and series order at launch]
Our communities in Ontario
Words used on this page
- mortgage
- The loan you use to buy the home. You pay it back every month, with interest.
- pre-approval
- A letter from a lender that says how much they are willing to lend you. It is not the final loan.
- property tax
- A tax you pay every year to the county or city, based on what your home is worth.
- home insurance
- Insurance that pays to repair or rebuild your home if it is damaged, for example by wind or fire.
- condo fee
- A monthly fee paid to a condominium corporation for shared property and upkeep, and for its reserve fund.
- possession
- The day the home becomes yours. Your lawyer completes the paperwork and the money, and you get the keys.
- Tarion
- The organisation that administers Ontario's new home warranty. The builder enrols every new home, and coverage starts at possession.
- HST
- Ontario's combined federal and provincial sales tax. It applies to a new home. Rebates exist for some buyers and change over time.
Questions first-time buyers ask
Do I need to be pre-approved before I visit a model home?
No. You are welcome to visit first. That said, a pre-approval tells you what you can borrow, so you tour with a real budget in mind. Many buyers find it easier to decide once they have one. Here is what to ask a lender.
Is there a rebate or program for first-time buyers in Ontario?
Yes, several, and their rules, limits and dates change. HST rebates on a new home, a land transfer tax refund and federal savings programs all exist. We do not list the figures here because they date quickly. Your lender or accountant can tell you which apply to you, and our dated articles on Cardel News explain the current ones.
Which Cardel community is the most affordable for a first home?
It depends on the home type and what is selling at the time. We build terrace towns, townhomes, bungalows and two-storey singles across three communities, and prices change. The live community pages show current homes and starting prices. Where to start explains how to compare them.
Does the price include HST?
New homes in Ontario carry HST, and prices are usually quoted with it included and any rebate assigned to the builder. Ask for the breakdown on the specific home. We will tell you plainly, and your lawyer will check how it appears on your closing statement.
Ready to see a home?
Visit a model home, or ask us about quick possession homes in the community you like.
Internal review notes — what must be confirmed before this page publishes
- [to confirm] Which Ontario communities and home types are actively selling at launch. The community tiles come from the manifest and must match the live site. Southview is listed on the live page as rentals and is excluded.
- [to confirm] Cardel Ontario warranty service contact and process.
- [to confirm] NEWS article URLs (HST rebate explainer, GST rebate update) and the series order.
- No community or product is described as where most buyers start. Terrace towns are listed as one of four home types.
- Legal review: no figures, rebate amounts, program limits, deadlines or rates appear on this page, per the Aug 31, 2026 feedback.
- Oct 2026 rebuild: this hub replaced an 11-page version with calculators and specialist pages. The earlier version is in archive/prototype-backups/ontario-pre-feedback-aug2026/.