What is the minimum down payment for a first home in Ontario?
The thresholds changed in December 2024, and a great deal of advice still online is quoting the old ones.
The short answer
The minimum down payment in Canada is 5% on the first $500,000, 10% on the portion between $500,000 and $1.5 million, and 20% at $1.5 million and above. On a $750,000 home that is $50,000. Robin Patel works this out with first-time buyers before they start viewing properties.
Written forFirst-time buyers in Ontario working out what they need saved before they start viewing properties.
The short version
- 5% on the first $500,000, 10% between $500,000 and $1.5 million, and 20% at $1.5 million and above.
- The upper threshold moved from $1 million to $1.5 million on 15 December 2024.
- Twenty per cent above $1.5 million is not a separate rule — it follows from mortgage insurance being unavailable at that price.
- Below twenty per cent down you pay a CMHC premium, which is added to your mortgage.
- A thirty-year amortization can only be insured for a first-time buyer or a newly built home.
The three bands
Canada sets the minimum down payment by purchase price, in bands, and the calculation is cumulative rather than a single percentage of the whole price.
On a $750,000 home you need five per cent of the first $500,000, which is $25,000, plus ten per cent of the remaining $250,000, which is another $25,000. The minimum is $50,000, not $37,500.
| Purchase price | Minimum down payment |
|---|---|
| $500,000 or less | 5% of the price |
| $500,000 to $1.5 million | 5% of the first $500,000, then 10% of the rest |
| $1.5 million and above | 20% of the price |
Why twenty per cent above $1.5 million
The twenty per cent figure is often described as a rule, and it is really a consequence. Mortgage default insurance is not available on a purchase price at or above $1.5 million, and a lender will not advance more than eighty per cent of the value without it.
The threshold was $1 million until 15 December 2024. A good deal of the advice still circulating quotes the old figure, which matters to anyone looking between one and one and a half million dollars.
Written by
Robin PatelSalesperson · The Agency Toronto
Updated
Published
Read in your language
A machine translation, not Robin’s words. For anything that decides money, ask him in Gujarati or Hindi directly.
