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Short Answer

5% on $500,000, 10% on the balance – up to 1 million dollars (CMHC insured mortgages)

Long Answer

*Update* The lending rules for CMHC have recently changed (December 2015)

You do need to put down at least 5% of the value of a home to be get a mortgage in Canada up to $500,000. These are the rules. They’re good actually because it means we live in a more stable country when it comes to the real estate market. You’d think you’d want to be able to get a home with nothing down, but that would make us a lot like the U.S. before the recession. Not a great prospect.

It’s not hard to calculate 5% down payments, but I thought I would show you what they look like for some home values. Here you can see how much you need for a down payment for homes at $50,000 increments:

House Cost 5% Down Payment
$150,000 $7,500
$200,000 $10,000
$250,000 $12,500
$300,000 $15,000
$350,000 $17,500
$400,000 $20,000
$450,000 $22,500
$500,000 $25,000

When it comes to home worth over $500,000 any additional amount on the value of the home must be purchased with a 10% down payment.So, can you get a place in Edmonton for $150,000? Sure you can! A smaller condo for that much would be easy to find. It wouldn’t be hard to save up the $7,500 to get it either. And if you want an average house, well expect to pay about $350,000 for it and you’ll need to put down $17,500 to get that. You can find houses for as little as $250,000 in Edmonton, but they will need work for sure.

So:

House Cost 5% of 500k Balance Over $500,000 10% of Balance Total Down Payment (5% + 10%)
$550,000 $25,000 $50,000 $5,000 $30,000
$650,000 $25,000 $150,000 $15,000 $40,000
$750,000 $25,000 $250,000 $25,000 $50,000
$950,000 $25,000 $450,000 $45,000 $70,000

Houses over 1 million require $20 down, and at that point, CMHC Insurance is not needed.

Is it a good idea to put more money down on your house? Absolutely – you can put down as much as you want or can afford. But many people just put down the minimum – especially with first time home purchases.

To learn more about how you can get your first home, read Can I Afford to Buy a Home?


 

by +Alan F Macdonald REALTOR® | Copyright © – gimme-shelter.com

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Alan F Macdonald

Author Alan F Macdonald

Alan F Macdonald is a real estate agent with Maxwell Challenge Realty in Edmonton, Alberta.

More posts by Alan F Macdonald

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