Short Answer
5% on $500,000, 10% on the balance up to $1 million and 20% for homes that are $1 million or more. Also note that if you put 20% down, you don’t need CMHC mortgage insurance.
Long Answer
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 more 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 homes worth more than $500,000 any additional amount on the value of the home must be purchased with a 10% down payment.
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 2%0 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?
