7481 Woodbine Ave #203, Markham, ON L3R 2W1 (647) 806-8188
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Real estate prices soar to the sky, down payments follow, creating a nightmare for first-time buyers. Prospective buyers may save up and make sacrifices to meet the minimum down payment requirement, only to find out that the remaining mortgage amount is more than what lenders are willing to accept. If a larger down payment stops you from purchasing your first home, the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, a government-managed program that may increase your down payment by 5 or 10%, may provide the necessary push.
The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, or FTHBI, is a government-run program that helps people buy their first homes by giving them loans for 5 or 10% of the price of the home. The group said that the computation on the appreciation limit was only retroactive to the program’s commencement date of September 2, 2019, mentioned in the government budget. Higher interest rates—notably the 50-basis point increase on June 1 that pushed the overnight rate to 1.5%— exerting upward pressure on borrowing costs, therefore reducing mortgage demand. According to statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association, this caused the average house price to fall to $746,000 in April from $796,000 the previous month. The intended goal of the shared-equity program was to assist Canadians in purchasing their first homes by providing 5% toward the down payment for the purchase of an existing resale property or 10% for the purchase of a newly built home.
FTHBI funds add to a first-time buyer’s down payment, giving them more equity at the start of their mortgage and lowering the total amount the lender that they pay them. The loan must be returned in full within 25 years or upon the sale of the property, whichever happens first. Because the FTHBI is a “shared equity” arrangement in which each member owns a portion of the property, you will have to pay back 5% of 10% of the property’s current market value, not the amount you borrowed. At first appearance, the FTHBI seems to provide much-needed assistance to first-time homebuyers. Before deciding whether or not the program is suited for you, you must fully comprehend the shared equity component and qualifying conditions.
As of December 31, 2021, only $270 million in shared-equity mortgages has approved, and only $253 million gave to first-time buyers through the three-year, $1.25 billion programs. Despite an increase in the maximum purchase price allowed under the program, purchasers in three of the nation’s most expensive markets—Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria—can only qualify for the program if they pay $722,000 or less. As of April, the average price in all three regions was higher than $1 million and more than $1,300,000 in the larger Toronto and Vancouver areas.
Sources:
https://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/2022/05/exclusive-cmhc-to-introduce-limits-on-first-time-home-buyer-incentive-amid-falling-home-prices/
https://financialpost.com/real-estate/mortgages/cmhc-rewrites-rules-of-homebuyer-shared-equity-program-to-limit-potential-losses-and-gains
https://storeys.com/rules-have-quietly-changed-first-time-home-buyer-incentive/
7481 Woodbine Ave #203, Markham, ON L3R 2W1 (647) 806-8188