First-Time Home Buyer

Buying your first home is exciting — and a little overwhelming. As a Calgary and Chestermere broker (and someone who’s been through it myself), I’ll walk you through every step in plain language.

What you can use toward your down payment

Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP): Withdraw up to $60,000 tax-free from your RRSP for your down payment. If two people are buying, that’s up to $120,000 combined. You repay it to your RRSP over 15 years, starting the second year after you buy. If you haven’t owned a home you lived in for the past four years (or you’re going through a divorce/separation), you may qualify as a first-time buyer again.

First Home Savings Account (FHSA): Contribute up to $8,000/year, to a lifetime max of $40,000. Contributions are tax-deductible (like an RRSP) and withdrawals for your first home are tax-free (like a TFSA). You can stack the FHSA and HBP together — that’s a powerful combined down payment. If you haven’t opened an FHSA yet, ask me — even opening one early starts your contribution room.

The basics

Minimum down payment:

5% on the first $500,000, and 10% on the portion from $500,000 to $1.5 million. Put 20% or more down and you skip CMHC mortgage default insurance entirely.

30-year amortization:

As a first-time buyer you can now spread payments over 30 years (up from 25), which lowers your monthly payment.

Insured mortgages now go up to $1.5 million

purchase price (with less than 20% down), up from the old $1M cap.

The stress test:

Lenders qualify you at the higher of your contract rate + 2%, or 5.25%. I’ll show you exactly what you qualify for before you shop.

Credit:

Aim for an Equifax score of 650+, with at least two types of credit (e.g., a credit card and a line of credit) reporting for two years, with no recent missed payments or collections.

Income documents:

Letters of employment and pay stubs are generally valid for 30 days.

Closing costs:

Budget roughly 1.5% of the purchase price for lawyer, inspection, and moving costs — plus a small emergency fund.

New: the First-Time Home Buyers’ GST Rebate

If you buy a newly built home, you may recover the full 5% federal GST — up to $50,000 on a home priced up to $1 million (the rebate phases out between $1M and $1.5M). This became law in March 2026. If you’re considering a new build, ask me how to make sure you qualify.

Buying with a co-signer

Many first-time buyers in Alberta use an immediate family member to co-sign to help qualify. After a minimum of 12 months, the co-signer can usually come off title — as long as you qualify on your own at that point.

Next steps

Book a call with me, and we’ll complete a 5-minute application. Upload your documents to our secure, bank-encrypted portal, and I can usually get you fully approved within one business day.