Pre-construction pricing is released by phase and changes between phases, so no third-party site can keep a price list accurate. What you can do is understand the structure of the cost, and know which line items are negotiable before you sign.
Why There Is No Public Price List
Pre-construction communities release pricing by phase. A phase opens with a set of lots and plans at a set of prices, sells through, and the next phase opens later at prices set then. Between those points the numbers move, and they move in response to absorption, construction costs and the builder's own schedule rather than on a published calendar.
That is why this site does not publish a price list. Any independent website showing you a precise, current price for a specific home in this community is showing you a number it cannot keep accurate, and a stale price is worse than no price, because it sets an expectation the sales office will not honour.
What you can do, and what this article is for, is understand the structure of the cost so that when you do receive current pricing you can read it properly.
The Purchase Price Is One Line of Several
Buyers almost always arrive focused on the purchase price. In new construction it is the largest line but not the only one that moves, and some of the others are negotiable while the price itself usually is not.
Deposit schedule
Pre-construction purchases use staged deposits rather than a single payment, typically a sum on signing followed by instalments at set intervals. The total and the timing are both worth attention: a schedule that front-loads deposits costs you liquidity for the whole build period. Our article on deposit structures covers how these are usually built.
Development and education levies
Municipalities and school boards charge levies on new residential construction, and builders pass them to the purchaser as a closing adjustment. These are the line items most likely to surprise a buyer at closing, because they are charged at the rate in effect at closing, not at signing, and on a pre-construction purchase that can be years apart.
Whether these are capped in your agreement is often worth more money than any upgrade decision you will make. A cap fixes your exposure. No cap leaves it open. Ask, and get the answer in the agreement, not in conversation.
Other closing adjustments
Utility enrolment and meter installation, Tarion enrolment, grading and lot deposits in some agreements, occupancy-related adjustments where they apply, legal fees and disbursements, and title insurance. Our full breakdown of pre-construction closing costs goes through each.
Land Transfer Tax: A Vaughan Advantage Worth Knowing
Ontario charges provincial land transfer tax on residential purchases. The City of Toronto charges a second, municipal land transfer tax on top of it. Vaughan does not. A buyer purchasing in Vaughan pays the provincial tax only, which on a typical detached purchase is a material difference against an equivalent purchase inside Toronto.
First-time buyers may also qualify for a refund of provincial land transfer tax up to a statutory maximum. Our article on first-time home buyer programs in Ontario sets out what is currently available and who qualifies.
HST and the New Housing Rebate
HST applies to new residential construction in Ontario, and builders normally quote prices with the HST and the federal and provincial new housing rebates already built in, on the assumption that the purchaser will occupy the home as their primary residence.
That assumption matters. If you do not occupy the home as a primary residence, for example because you intend to lease it on closing, the rebate the builder assumed may not apply to you, and the builder will charge you the difference at closing. Buyers who plan to rent the home should raise this with their lawyer and accountant well before closing, not at it. There is a separate rebate route for landlords, but it is claimed afterwards and requires a lease in place.
Upgrades Are Where Budgets Actually Go
Options divide into structural, which change the building, and décor, which change the finishes. Structural options close early, often long before the décor appointment, and once framing proceeds they cannot be revisited. Décor lists are long, priced per item, and easy to walk past your budget one line at a time.
The useful discipline is to separate what cannot be changed later from what can. A side entrance, a basement bathroom rough-in or a modified staircase is expensive and disruptive to add afterwards. Cabinet hardware is not. Our article on which upgrades are worth the investment works through that in order.
Comparing Prices When the Product Is Not the Same
At The Valleys of Thornhill each builder is delivering a specific product, so a direct price comparison between them is not comparing like with like. Treasure Hill is delivering the two-car garage townhomes. Starlane Home Corp. is delivering 33-foot single detached homes. Greenpark Group is delivering 38-foot and 50-foot singles.
A townhome and a 50-foot detached home are different products with different costs, and the gap between them is not a discount or a premium, it is a different house on a different lot. The comparison that does make sense is on a per-square-foot basis within the same frontage and against comparable homes elsewhere in Vaughan.
What to Ask When You Receive Pricing
- Is this price for a specific lot, or a starting price for the plan?
- What lot premium applies to the lot I am being offered, and for what reason?
- Are development charges, education levies and utility charges capped? At what amounts?
- What is the full deposit schedule in dates and amounts?
- Does the price assume the HST new housing rebate, and what happens if I do not occupy as a primary residence?
- Which items on the specification sheet are standard and which are shown as optional?
- What is the builder's right to increase the price or substitute materials before closing?
Getting Current Numbers
Pricing and availability at this community are released by phase and are available on request. The mortgage calculator will model a monthly payment once you have a figure to work with, though on a pre-construction closing today's rate is an estimate rather than a commitment. For the process end to end, see the pre-construction buying guide, and for the community itself, the development overview.
Have Questions About Pre-Construction?
Matthew Caporiccio can help you understand pricing, deposit structures, and availability at The Valleys of Thornhill and other pre-construction projects across the GTA.
