Here’s how long it will take to save for the upfront costs of buying a home in Canada

If you’re eager to buy your first house, money is definitely on your mind, more specifically, how much you’ll actually need to make a down payment. For those who are curious – Point2 has released a new study which breaks down how long it will take to save for the upfront costs of owning a home across Canada and you’re going to want to take notes… then perhaps cry with us.

As you can imagine, the price of home ownership from coast to coast varies, with some costing significantly less than others – but what cities will take you less than 10 years to save for a 20% deposit, closing costs, the first mortgage payments, insurance and property taxes?

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According to the report, those in Edmonton, Alberta have the luxury of only having to save for 5 years, while those in Richmond, Ontario should be patient – then continue to do so for a whopping 22 years.

Other affordable cities (as seen below) include Saguenay, Trois-Rivières and Québec City, Quebec, where residents save for an average of 6 years, but how did they figure this out?

“Point2 set out to determine the major Canadian cities where the first year of homeownership was easier on the wallets of new buyers. To do so, we took the 50 most populous cities in Canada and analyzed data pertaining to two categories: upfront costs and annual recurring costs,” they explained.

“To gain more perspective, Point2 also analyzed how many years it would take for the average renter to save up for the upfront costs required to transition into homeownership, then took calculations a step further to see how many years it would take to cover the full cost of the first year of homeownership.”

In addition to this, they also took into account the financial aid programs offered by the government which include, the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account Plan and the newly introduced Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act.

Taking all of this into account, their findings found that cities in Ontario and British Columbia should also start planning ahead – with the average Markham, Oakville and Vaughan, resident having to save over 20 years for immediate costs.

Below are the other cities with the ‘Most Years Required to Save Up for Upfront Costs:

Do the upfront costs of owning a home across Canada surprise you? Good luck, happy saving and congrats to anyone able to make it work. Here’s hoping things will get easier across the board.