What it’s like to be a first-time home buyer in Ontario—for real
Our journey as first-time home buyers in Ontario is by no means unique. Amid soaring prices, many people are experiencing the same relentless competition and are having to expand their search criteria and stretch their budget to land a property.
Five years ago, the average price for a property in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was just shy of $763,000. By March 2020, prices had climbed 18% to more than $902,000, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. That was just weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic!
A perfect storm of low supply and high demand sent prices surging further. Lockdown measures sent many people in search of larger properties in which they could comfortably work from home. The Bank of Canada, fearing a recession, slashed already low interest rates to 0.25%, making it easier for people to take on larger mortgages.
The result? Prices leaped around 30% not only in the GTA—where the average price sits at over $1.1 million as of November—but also across smaller cities in the province. To complicate matters further, Ontarians, and indeed Canadians, now face a historic low housing inventory.
There’s no doubt that being a first-time home buyer in Ontario is more challenging than ever. So, we’ve pulled together a guide for those looking to get a toehold on the property ladder.
What you’ll need to buy a home in Ontario
The first thing you’ll likely ask yourself as a first-time home buyer in Ontario is how much you need to save for a down payment. While some financial experts recommend putting down 20%, that’s not a realistic expectation for everyone. Instead, you have the option of paying the minimum down payment, meaning as little as 5% for homes under $500,000, which could help you enter the market faster.
| Purchase price | Minimum down payment required |
|---|---|
| Under $500,000 | 5% of the purchase price |
| $500,000 to $999,999 | 5% of the first $500,000 + 10% of the portion of $500,001 to $999,999 |
| $1 million plus | 20% of purchase price |
In some cases, it might be to your advantage to buy once you have the minimum that’s required for the down payment. “First-time buyers should look to enter the market as soon as possible so as to not have price inflation prevent them further and also to benefit from the equity growth created by the rising prices,” says Sadiq Boodoo, principal broker at Approved Financial Services in Whitby, Ont.
In other words, a little FOMO may not be a bad thing—as long as you can still comfortably afford the monthly mortgage payments. Remember, the smaller your down payment, the larger your regular mortgage payments will be. And with interest rates expected to rise in the near future, it’s important to create a cushion in your budget should rates (and the amount of your monthly payments) eventually increase.