The Ontario government is going to help fi rst time home buyers and has committed to doubling the rebate on the land-transfer tax to $4,000.

The government says half of first-time buyers won’t pay any land-transfer tax to the province. The province of Ontario takes in over $2.1 billion a year in the land-transfer tax. Premier Kathleen Wynne had said the government was worried about the diffi culty faced by first-time buyers trying to get into the housing market, especially in the Greater Toronto Area where the average price is $762,975.

The government also announced it is freezing the property tax on apartment buildings while it reviews how it aff ects rental market affordability.

The changes to the land-transfer tax are outlined in the Ontario government’s fall economic statement, which says that home ownership has become a key factor in many people’s long term financial security.

The Ontario Real Estate Association had been asking the government to expand the land-transfer tax rebate program for fi rst-time buyers as one way to help more of them get into the housing market and it appears they have been listening.

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