Most Ottawa builders require your agent to register you on the first visit. Walk in alone and you can lose representation on that purchase.
Seven areas, the builders active in each, and roughly what things cost. Choose one on the map or use the filters underneath it.
Swipe the map sideways to see every area. Boundaries are the City of Ottawa's published neighbourhood boundaries, grouped into the areas buyers shop. Village shapes are the Official Plan village boundaries. The four towns east of the city are outside Ottawa, so their shapes are the built-up area mapped in OpenStreetMap.
The largest concentration of new freehold product in the city, and the easiest place to get real choice on lot and model. Tied land is used heavily on the townhome blocks, so check the ownership type on the specific lot rather than the community.
Still filling in, and the area most exposed to transit timelines. Which phase your lot sits in matters more here than anywhere else, because servicing and final grading sign off can lag the model home by a long way.
The deepest inventory in the city and the strongest resale demand behind it, driven by the tech corridor. Newer phases run smaller lots than the established streets nearby, which is rarely obvious from a site plan.
The strongest francophone school access in the new build market, and the place where the freehold versus tied land distinction catches the most buyers off guard. Mixed product, and generally better value per square foot than the west.
Almost entirely condominium, which means the ten day cancellation right applies and interim occupancy is part of the deal. Development charges run lower inside the Greenbelt than in the suburbs, though that rarely shows up as a lower price.
Larger lots, custom and semi custom builders, and a different set of questions. Well and septic, private road maintenance, and build timelines measured against a production subdivision look long.
East of the city in Prescott and Russell, and the reason people look here is price: the same money buys noticeably more house than it does inside Ottawa. The trade is the commute and, outside Rockland, no municipal transit. Strongly francophone, with French-first school options that matter to a lot of buyers.
Pricing here is a planning range, not a quote. Builder pricing moves with every release, and the figure on a sign is for a base model on a standard lot before lot premium, upgrades and adjustments. Confirm anything you are relying on with the builder, and ask me for the release you care about.
Community list current as of August 2026. Reviewed quarterly.
Every builder sales centre asks you to sign in. That sheet is a registration form. In most Ottawa builder agreements, the agent named on it is the only agent who can act for you on that purchase, and if the line is blank, nobody can.
Registering costs you nothing. The builder's commission is already priced into the home and gets paid whether or not you bring someone. Walking in alone does not get you a discount. It gets you a sales representative who works for the builder, on a contract the builder wrote, with nobody reading it on your side.
If you have already toured a site without registering, tell me before you go back. Some builders will make an exception in writing. Most will not.
A builder agreement is not the standard form you sign on a resale home. It was written by the builder's lawyers, and almost none of it is in your favour by default.
Resale closing costs are largely predictable. New build closing costs are written by the builder, and the range is far wider.
| Cost Item | Who Pays | Typical Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit instalments | Buyer | Around 5% of the price, staged | Paid on signing and at set intervals afterward, not in one payment. Forms part of your down payment |
| Development charges and levies | Buyer | Five figures if the clause is uncapped | Ottawa's charges on a new suburban single detached run above $60,000. Your exposure depends entirely on how the adjustment clause is written. Ask for a cap |
| Tarion enrolment fee | Buyer | Around $1,790 on an average home | Legally the builder's fee. Most agreements pass it to you as a closing adjustment |
| Utility hookups and meters | Buyer | $1,500–$3,000 | Hydro, gas and water meter installation, plus connection charges. Almost always a buyer adjustment |
| HST | Buyer | Included in the advertised price | The rebate is assigned to the builder. Clawed back at closing if you are not moving in |
| Occupancy fees (condos only) | Buyer | Often $2,500–$6,000 a month | Paid during interim occupancy, before you own anything. None of it reduces the purchase price |
| Decor centre upgrades | Buyer | Whatever you sign for | Deposits are usually non refundable and rarely financeable. Budgets double here more often than anywhere else |
| Land Transfer Tax (Ontario) | Buyer | ~1–2% of purchase price | Same as resale. First-time buyers may get a rebate up to $4,000 |
| Legal Fees | Buyer | $2,500–$3,500 | Higher than resale. More documents, and a condo means two closings instead of one |
| Grading and lot deposits | Buyer | $500–$3,000 | Refunded once the city signs off on final grading, which can take a year or more |
Read the adjustments schedule before you sign, not after. It is usually a separate page near the back of the agreement, and it is where the open ended clauses live. A cap on levies and development charges is the single most valuable thing to negotiate on a new build, and it is easier to get before the deal is firm than after.
These figures are estimates for planning, not quotes. Your builder's agreement and your lawyer are the authority on what you will pay.
Two tax measures apply to newly built homes and not to resale. Both are tied to when you sign, which makes them one of the few genuinely time sensitive things on this page.
Up to $50,000 back on a newly built home, for eligible first-time buyers who sign on or after March 20, 2025. Full relief on homes priced to $1 million, phasing down to nothing at $1.5 million. You have to be the first person to live in it, and it has to be your primary residence.
Up to $80,000 in provincial relief, and it is not limited to first-time buyers. It applies where the agreement of purchase and sale is signed between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027, construction starts by the end of 2028, and the home is substantially complete by the end of 2031.
A first-time buyer of a new home inside both windows can combine the provincial relief with relief on the federal portion. On a home priced at or below $1 million that can mean the full 13% HST back.
On a new build the rebate is normally assigned to the builder and reflected in the price, so what matters is confirming with your lawyer that the agreement is written to capture it. Buyers who qualify and do not claim correctly are leaving the largest single sum on this page behind.
Tax rules change and the provincial measure is tied to a specific window. Confirm the current rules and your own eligibility with your real estate lawyer or an accountant before you rely on any of these figures.
Every new home in Ontario comes with a statutory warranty. It is not a service contract with the builder, and it does not cover everything people assume it does.
If the price is $600,000 or less, your deposit is protected to $60,000. Above $600,000, protection is 10% of the price to a maximum of $100,000.
$20,000, plus a limited amount of accrued interest. Considerably less than the freehold limit, and worth knowing before you hand over a staged deposit on a pre-construction unit.
$150 a day toward accommodation and meals, to a maximum of $7,500. You do not need receipts for living expenses, but you do for extra moving and storage costs. Miss the required notice and the compensation starts anyway.
$400,000 on a freehold home and $300,000 on a condominium unit, for agreements signed on or after July 1, 2023. Condominium common elements are covered to $100,000 per unit, capped at $3.5 million.
Your one documented walkthrough before you get the keys. Anything you want the builder to fix under warranty has to be written on that form on the day. Do not do it alone, and do not let anyone rush it.
A mandatory schedule attached to every new home agreement. It sets out your closing dates, your right to compensation for delays, and the conditions the builder is relying on. It overrides conflicting terms in the body of the agreement.
The difference is not a detail. On a condominium you can be living in the home, paying for it monthly, and still not own it.
Title and keys arrive the same day, the way a resale closing works. What differs is certainty. Your closing date can move more than once before it becomes firm, and each move has notice rules and compensation attached to it under the Tarion Addendum.
First interim occupancy, when you move in and start paying occupancy fees. Then final closing, once the condominium corporation is registered, which can be months later. Only at final closing do you get title, start your mortgage, and start building equity.
Interest on the unpaid balance of the purchase price, plus estimated municipal taxes, plus a projected common expense contribution. It feels like a mortgage payment and it is not one. None of it comes off the price.
Build the delay into your plans from the start. Decide early what you will do if the date moves twice, whether that means a month to month lease, storage, or a school registration that has to hold either way.
Selling your contract to another buyer before the home is finished. Most builder agreements restrict it, charge a fee for it, or forbid it outright. It also affects your HST position.
Amounts added to the purchase price on closing day. On a new build these are set by the builder's agreement rather than by convention, which is why they are so much larger than on resale.
Where you select finishes and upgrades, usually on a fixed appointment with a deadline. Upgrade deposits are typically non refundable and are rarely covered by your mortgage.
Municipal fees that fund the infrastructure serving new growth. Set by the City of Ottawa, paid on the home, and passed to you through the adjustments clause unless that clause is capped.
The date the builder can no longer move without owing you compensation. Distinct from the tentative and outside dates that appear earlier in the Tarion Addendum, and the one that matters.
The Home Construction Regulatory Authority. It licenses Ontario builders and publishes the Ontario Builder Directory, where their record is public.
The period on a new condominium when you can move in but do not yet own the unit. You pay occupancy fees to the builder throughout, and none of it reduces the price.
The category covered by the seven year warranty. Narrower than it sounds, and specifically about structural failure rather than finish quality or general disappointment.
Parcel of tied land. You own the house and lot freehold, but a share of a common elements corporation comes attached, along with a monthly fee for private roads or shared services.
The documented walkthrough before you take possession, where damage and incomplete work get recorded on a form. Your best and effectively only chance to get items on the record.
The document your lawyer receives shortly before closing showing everything owed on top of the price. On a new build this is where uncapped clauses turn into real numbers.
The organisation that administers Ontario's new home warranty. Builders enrol every home and pay a fee for it, and Tarion backs the warranty if the builder will not honour it.
Everything on this page compressed into the order you need it, from the visit through to the pre-delivery inspection. Printable, and short enough to hold in one hand while a sales representative is talking.
One message before you walk into a sales centre protects your representation on that purchase. It takes a minute, it costs you nothing, and it is the only step on this page you cannot do later.
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