How Much Does It Cost to Build a House in Ontario

Curious about building your Ontario dream home? Explore the factors that impact costs, from land to finishes, and get a realistic estimate for 2024.

By Josh Sherman | 10 minute read

Curious about building your Ontario dream home? Explore the factors that impact costs, from land to finishes, and get a realistic estimate for 2024.

Some homebuyers prefer the character of older homes. It doesn’t get any better than a historic Victorian, or a loft in a converted heritage building. Others may gravitate towards a shiny new home in a developer’s subdivision. They’ll appreciate homebuilder warranties and a totally turnkey experience. For a certain type of buyer, though, nothing compares to a custom build. 

Building your Ontario dream home gives you complete control over every aspect of the property — but it comes at a cost.

How much does it cost to build a house in Ontario? It depends 

In the early-20th century, it wasn’t unheard of for homebuyers to order a brand new home from a catalog. 

Today, many different variables contribute to the cost of building a new house in Ontario. These can lead to big fluctuations in price depending on the client’s taste and needs.

“There are lots of details to figure before giving you an exact price on any kind of house, but for the most part it’s per square foot as a starting point,” explains Mark Wexler, founder of Wexmark Homes, a GTA-based homebuilder. Overall, these details fall under one of two categories: “It’s materials and difficulty in the project,” Wexler adds.

A luxury home may have pricier finishes that substantially add to the cost, while a more modest starter home could be built for less than half the price. As a general rule, though, Wexler provides a basic estimate, using his experience in Toronto: “It can be anywhere from $500 a square foot to $1,000 a square foot, depending on what the house is like,” Wexler tells Wahi. 

Wexler’s estimate lines up with Altus Group’s 2023 Canadian Cost Guide, which provides pricing for home construction in nine major markets. According to the guide, prices for a custom built single-family home vary from the mid-$400 range up to approximately $1,000 in most major Canadian cities.

In Ontario, the average detached home has 1,520 square feet of indoor living space, excluding the basement, according to Statistics Canada. In B.C., the typical home is somewhat smaller at 1,430 square feet, and in Nova Scotia, the average is 1,150 square feet.

Based on the cost estimates from Altus Group and Wexler and the home-size data from StatCan, a typical custom build in Toronto or Vancouver could run you anywhere from about $750,000 to more than $1,500,000. The east coast has the lowest cost to build a house in Canada, with Altus estimating a Halifax home could be completed for anywhere from $275 to $555 per square foot. If that home is of average size for Nova Scotia, that represents a project cost of approximately $320,200 to about $640,000.

A number of factors could influence the cost to build a house. Below, we break down the different variables that contribute to the cost to build a house in Ontario, using the GTA as a benchmark.  

The property

Before you can build a house, you’ve got to have land. From local land values to the characteristics of the lot itself, various details about the property influence pricing. 

Land value

If you’re looking to buy a lot big enough for a detached home in a big Ontario city, expect to shell out north of $1 million. In smaller markets, you could obtain a vacant lot or teardown for less than $100,000. In Wexler’s case, demolition is included in the per-square-foot building cost. He suggests a demo amounts to roughly $80,000 on its own.

Property characteristics 

The characteristics of your property can add to the cost of building a house in Ontario. “For example, on a tight lot, excavating is difficult ‘cuz you’ve got to get machinery there. Sometimes you’ve got to excavate by hand, and that costs more,” says Wexler.

If space around the perimeter is limited and your dream home is two or more storeys tall, a crane also may be needed to bring materials to the upper levels.

Location

Is your property in or around the downtown core? That may cost you more as well. “Trades and suppliers, they need space to park, and in a lot of cases in downtown Toronto, there’s very limited places to park, so sometimes those things can raise the value of the project,” Wexler explains. 

The cost of parking permits may be passed onto the client. There’s also the fact that many trades are also commuters. “The trades don’t generally live in the heart of the city — they live outside the city, and they’ve got to come into the city early in the morning, [and] they’ve got to find places to park,” he continues.

Because of parking limitations, workers may need to drop off equipment and then park farther away from the construction site, and they may charge for the inconvenience. Such issues related to location can add to the overall project costs by about 5%. “They may charge a bit more per hour because of it.”

The style of home 

Not all architectural styles cost the same. “If it’s a modern home, or a traditional home, transitional home, or Prairie style — each one of these styles are a different type of build, and some of them require more steel than others, more concrete than others,” says Wexler.

If you’re concerned about costs, you may want to stick to a more conventional style of home. “A traditional style of home or transitional home that has an A-frame, your typical house, those are more cost effective than a modern home that requires a lot more steel for a flat roof,” says Wexler. 

The interior  

The cost to build a house in Ontario is also sensitive to the quality of the interior. Crown moulding, automated electrical systems, hardwood flooring — there are near-endless billable add-ons. “If a designer’s package has marble throughout, then obviously it’s more expensive than if it’s porcelain,” says Wexler.

Some prefer to bring in their own interior-design professional, which also adds to the project cost. “If you hire an interior designer, you’re spending more money,” says Wexler. “They all vary, depending on the experience of the designer.”

According to the HomeStars estimator, the average interior-design project costs about $11,500 in Toronto. You can enter your postal code in the estimator to see how much a typical project costs in your area.

The amenities  

Amenities can add substantially to the cost to build a house in Ontario. While some condos have awesome amenities, custom detached homes aren’t to be outdone. With a big enough budget, the sky’s the limit in terms of what kind of amenities can be incorporated into a custom house. We’ve seen everything from ziplines to hockey rinks in the past. Of course, most Ontarians have more simple tastes (and budgets). With this in mind, we analyze the cost of the most common amenities below.

Pools

One of the most common amenities that contributes to the cost to build a house in Ontario is a pool. Between 2020 and 2021, Canadian homeowners registered nearly 41,000 permits to build in-ground pools on their property, according to the Pool & Spa Marketing’s 2023 industry report. 

“Pools on their own can range from anywhere from $75,000 and up — and then there’s the rest of the landscaping and equipment and sheds and things like that on top of it,” says Wexler.

Landscaping

Expect a simple set of designers from a landscape architect to cost $4,500. How much you end up spending on landscaping depends on the scope of the project. It’s not unheard of for homeowners in affluent neighbourhoods to spend $500,000 or more on intricate landscaping with features such as sports courts, waterfalls, and the like.

Detached Garages

If your home’s garage is part of the main structure, it should generally be included in the overall per-square-foot estimate. However, a detached garage is a separate build and comes as an added cost.

A simple detached garage, such as those you may see backing onto a laneway, could cost between $20,000 and $40,000, Wexler estimates. “If you’re adding storage or an apartment above it, that’s different.” In the GTA, Wexler suggests a laneway home is approximately $250,000. 

Zoning and building permits  

Fees related to zoning and building permits, which are required before undertaking any work on a construction site, usually run in the ballpark of $20,000 in Toronto, says Wexler: “Sometimes it’s more.” Check with your local Ontario municipality to find out more. 

Unforeseen challenges   

One advantage to a new build over a renovation project is that you’re less likely to face an unexpected difficulty. You’re effectively starting with a blank slate. However, unforeseen challenges can occur once shovels are in the ground. “If you excavate and you find that there are water-table problems or there’s an old oil tank — that could be a problem,” says Wexler.

Fortunately, these issues are “generally few and far between,” says Wexler, though they can lead to big cost overruns if they do arise. If your house is built in an area where there was once a river, for example, there could still be water underground. “When you’re excavating, water’s coming up… and you’ve got to deal with that,” says Wexler. Doing so could run you an extra $100,000, he cautions. 

The homebuilder   

Some Ontarians begin the custom home process by hiring an architect for drawings, and then approaching homebuilders to bid on the project. However, Wexler says it’s best to work with a homebuilder from the get-go. “Architects in general don’t know the pricing of  building a house; they don’t know the pricing of some of the stuff they’re suggesting,” he explains. “Having a builder from the get-go is vital, in my opinion, because a builder can tell you — if there is a budget — where to save and where to omit things and where to make changes.” 

However, choosing the wrong homebuilder can prove to be an expensive mistake, causing stress and costing you lots of time and money. For instance, near the end of the project when the client may only owe a remaining $5,000 or $10,000 on their bill, some unscrupulous contractors will ghost you if there are any deficiencies, such as issues with paint or grout. “They don’t bother coming back for it,” warns Wexler. “They’ve moved on to the next project.”

If you’re curious about how much it costs to build a house in Ontario and are thinking of hiring a homebuilder, Wexler recommends looking for those with the following four qualities:

On-site presence: “You want to make sure that you have a contractor who is on-site everyday,” says Wexler. “For some builders, you’re paying for that site supervision — there might be an added cost,” he adds. “People are fearful that they’re going to drive by their site and nobody’s working.”

Good communication: It’s critical to find a contractor who responds quickly to your questions or concerns, says Wexler: “That’ll be a problem throughout the project if they don’t.”

Strong organization: You also want a contractor who is on the ball. “You can delay your project by a year if your contractor’s not organized,” notes Wexler.

Solid references: To avoid a fly-by-night homebuilder, Wexler recommends getting references. He suggests a minimum of two: one from a recent client and another from an older one. “It’s always good to know: how did that house hold up that was built 10 years ago?” he explains. “At the end of the day, it’s a relationship. You’re building a house for a year-and-a-half — you want to know you have a partner.”