What It Actually Costs to Buy in the GTA

Beyond the purchase price, two numbers decide whether a home is really affordable for you: your down payment and your closing costs. Here is the straight answer on both, plus how first-time buyer programs stack together.

How Much Down Payment Do You Need?

The minimum down payment in Canada is set federally and scales with the purchase price:

• Up to $500,000 — minimum 5% down
• $500,000 to $999,999 — 5% on the first $500,000, plus 10% on the portion above that
• $1,000,000 and up — minimum 20% down, and you will need a conventional (uninsured) mortgage rather than an insured one

Example: on a $650,000 condo, that is 5% of $500,000 ($25,000) plus 10% of the remaining $150,000 ($15,000), for a minimum down payment of $40,000.

What Closing Costs Should You Budget For?

Plan for these on top of your down payment:

• Ontario Land Transfer Tax — payable on every purchase in Ontario. First-time buyers can claim a refund of up to $4,000, which covers the tax in full on homes up to roughly $368,000 and reduces it on anything above that.
• Toronto Municipal Land Transfer Tax — if you are buying within the City of Toronto specifically, there is a second, municipal land transfer tax on top of the Ontario one, with its own separate first-time buyer rebate. Richmond Hill, Markham, Vaughan and the rest of York Region do not have this second tax.
• Legal fees — typically $1,500–$2,500 for a residential purchase
• Title insurance — usually arranged by your lawyer, a few hundred dollars
• Home inspection — commonly $400–$700
• Adjustments — reimbursing the seller for prepaid property tax or utilities from your closing date forward

A common rule of thumb is to budget 1.5%–4% of the purchase price for closing costs, on top of your down payment.

First-Time Buyer Programs, and How They Stack

These are not mutually exclusive — most first-time buyers use several of these together:

• Ontario Land Transfer Tax Refund — up to $4,000 back, applied automatically at closing by your lawyer if you qualify.
• RRSP Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) — withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSP, tax-free, toward your down payment. You repay it back into your RRSP over 15 years.
• First Home Savings Account (FHSA) — contribute up to $8,000 per year ($40,000 lifetime max). Contributions are tax-deductible going in, and withdrawals are completely tax-free when used for a qualifying first home purchase.
• First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit — a $10,000 non-refundable federal tax credit, worth up to roughly $1,500 back at tax time.

A typical stack looks like this: use your FHSA and RRSP HBP together to boost your down payment, claim the Ontario refund at closing, and claim the tax credit the following spring. Program rules and dollar limits do change with federal and provincial budgets, so confirm current numbers with your mortgage professional before you build your budget around them.