Buying your first home in BC

The steps, from savings to keys

Most first purchases in BC follow the same order. Knowing it early saves money, because a few programs only help if you start them before you shop.

1. Save, in the right accounts. Open a First Home Savings Account early, and check your RRSP for the Home Buyers' Plan.
2. Work out your numbers. Your minimum down payment, your closing costs and the monthly cost you're comfortable with, which may be less than what a lender offers.
3. Get pre-approved. A lender or mortgage broker checks your income, debts and credit and tells you the most they'd lend.
4. Choose a Realtor and the type of home. Before you talk about your budget or reasons for buying, a Realtor in BC must give you the Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services, which explains how they can work with you.¹
5. Make an offer with subjects. Usually subject to financing, an inspection and, for a strata home, a review of the strata documents.
6. Use the days you have. The 3-business-day rescission period starts once your offer is accepted, and your subject dates run alongside it.
7. Remove subjects and pay the deposit. From here the deal is firm.
8. Close. Your lawyer or notary transfers the money and registers the title. You get the keys on the possession date in your contract.

Saving: FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan

Two federal programs let you save for a first home with tax help. You can read the full conditions on each Canada Revenue Agency page.

First Home Savings Account (FHSA)

You can put in up to $8,000 a year, to a lifetime total of $40,000. Unused room carries forward, up to $8,000. Your room only starts the year you open your first FHSA, so opening one early, even with a small amount, gives you more room later.² Contributions are generally tax-deductible, and a qualifying withdrawal for your first home is tax-free.²

Home Buyers' Plan (HBP)

You can withdraw up to $60,000 per person from your RRSPs to buy a qualifying home. For a couple buying together, that's up to $60,000 each. You pay it back to your RRSP over 15 years. For withdrawals made from 2022 on, repayments start in the fifth year after the withdrawal; check the CRA page for the year you withdraw, since that start date is set by year.³

Your down payment and mortgage insurance

The minimum down payment in Canada depends on the price. It's 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the part between $500,000 and $1.5M. At $1.5M or more, the minimum is 20%.⁴

With less than 20% down, your mortgage needs default insurance, and the price has to be under $1.5M.⁴ The premium is a share of the loan, set by how much you borrow against the price, and it's added to your mortgage rather than paid in cash. BC charges no sales tax on it.⁵

An example. On a $700,000 home, the minimum down payment is $45,000: $25,000 on the first $500,000 plus $20,000 on the next $200,000. You'd borrow $655,000, about 93.6% of the price, so the premium is 4.00%, or $26,200, added to the mortgage. With a 30-year amortization it's 4.20%, or $27,510.⁵

A 30-year amortization on an insured mortgage is open to you if at least one borrower is a first-time buyer, or if the home is newly built and no one has lived in it.⁶ It lowers the monthly payment, but you pay more interest over the life of the loan.

Pre-approval and the stress test

A pre-approval tells you the most a lender would lend you, based on your income, debts, credit and savings. It isn't a promise of a mortgage: the lender still has to approve the home you choose and recheck your situation before closing.⁸ Many lenders hold the rate they quote you for 60 to 130 days, depending on the lender.⁸

Bring ID, proof of income (recent pay stubs, or notices of assessment if you're self-employed), proof of your down payment and closing-cost money, and a list of your debts.⁸

Lenders also look at two ratios. Your housing costs (mortgage payment, property tax, heating and half of any strata fee) shouldn't be more than 39% of your gross household income. All your debts, housing included, shouldn't be more than 44%.⁷ That's why a car loan or a strata fee can shrink your budget more than you'd expect.

The figure on your pre-approval is a ceiling, not a target. Pick a monthly cost you can carry with room for repairs, a rate change at renewal and everything else in your life.

Condo, townhouse or presale

Most first homes in Greater Vancouver are condos or townhouses, and many of those are strata properties: you own your unit and share the building, grounds and costs with the other owners. The choice is about trade-offs, not a right answer.

Condo (apartment)

• Usually the lowest price of entry, so the smallest down payment.
• A monthly strata fee covers shared costs. Half of it counts in your housing ratio, so it affects how much you can borrow.⁷
• Bylaws can limit rentals, pets and renovations. Read them before you commit.

Townhouse

• More space and often a yard or patio, at a higher price than a condo in the same area.
• Most are strata too, so the same documents matter. Ask what the owner looks after and what the strata does, such as roofs and siding.

Presale (buying before it's built)

• You sign now and complete when the building is finished, which can be years away. Your deposit is held in trust by a brokerage, lawyer or notary, not paid to the developer.⁹
• You get a disclosure statement and 7 days to cancel, counted from the later of signing or acknowledging you had the chance to read it.⁹ The 3-day resale rescission period doesn't apply.¹³
• GST applies to a new home, but programs can offset it, and a newly built home can qualify for a larger property transfer tax exemption. See closing costs.
• You qualify for the mortgage at completion, not at signing. A pre-approval rate hold won't last that long, and the lender lends on the home's appraised value at completion, which can differ from your price.

Reading the strata documents

For a strata home, the documents tell you what you'll pay beyond the price. Make your offer subject to reviewing them, and read them in that window.

The Information Certificate (Form B)

The strata must give an owner or buyer this certificate within one week of a request. It shows the monthly strata fee, special levies already approved and when they're due, the contingency reserve fund balance, bylaw changes not yet filed, upcoming votes that need a 3/4 vote, any court or tribunal cases, outstanding work orders, your parking and storage, and a summary of the building's insurance. The strata's rules, current budget and most recent depreciation report come attached.¹⁰

Minutes, bylaws and financial statements

An owner, or someone the owner authorizes in writing, can get copies of the strata's records within 2 weeks of asking.¹⁰ As a buyer you'll usually get them through the seller. Read the last two years of council and general meeting minutes: that's where leaks, repairs, insurance claims and planned levies show up first.

The depreciation report

A qualified person estimates the repair and replacement cost of the building's major parts and how long they'll last.¹¹ Compare what's coming due against the contingency reserve fund. A large gap often means higher fees or a special levy later.

Your offer and the rescission period

When your offer on a resale home is accepted, BC gives you 3 business days to change your mind, whether or not a Realtor is involved.¹³ The period starts the day after the date the acceptance was signed and ends at the end of the third business day. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays under BC's Interpretation Act (including Easter Monday and Boxing Day) don't count.¹²

An example. If the acceptance is signed on Thursday, October 8, 2026, the days are Friday the 9th, then Tuesday the 13th and Wednesday the 14th, because the weekend and Thanksgiving Monday don't count. You can rescind until the end of Wednesday, October 14. On a $700,000 home the fee is $1,750.¹²

Notice has to reach the seller in writing, using the contact details in your contract: by registered mail, fax or email.¹² Rescission is a safety valve, not a substitute for subjects. Subjects on financing, inspection and strata documents let you walk away without the fee if something turns up.

Closing costs

Closing costs are the cash you need on top of your down payment. Plan for them before you shop.

Property transfer tax (PTT)

BC charges 1% on the first $200,000, 2% from $200,000 to $2M and 3% above $2M, plus another 2% on residential value above $3M.¹⁴ On a $700,000 home that's $12,000.

First-time home buyers' exemption. At a fair market value up to $835,000, you don't pay PTT on the first $500,000, which saves up to $8,000. Between $835,000 and $860,000 the exemption shrinks, and at $860,000 it's zero.¹⁶ At $836,000 it's $7,680; at $859,000 it's $320.¹⁶ On a $700,000 home you'd pay $4,000 instead of $12,000.

To qualify you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, have lived in BC for the 12 months before (or filed 2 BC tax returns in the last 6 years), never have owned a principal residence anywhere in the world, and never have claimed the exemption. You must move in within 92 days and live there until the first anniversary.¹⁵

Newly built home exemption. For a new home up to $1.1M, there's no PTT at all, with a partial exemption up to $1.15M. You don't need to be a first-time buyer, but it must be your principal residence. Only one PTT exemption can be claimed, so use the one worth more.¹⁷

GST on a new home

New homes, including presales, carry 5% GST in BC.¹⁸ Check whether your price already includes it. The federal First-Time Home Buyers' GST rebate covers the GST up to $50,000 on a new home up to $1M, shrinking to zero at $1.5M. It applies to agreements signed after March 19, 2025, and you must be 18 or older, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and not have lived in a home you or your spouse owned in the current year or the 4 before.¹⁹ On a $700,000 new home, GST is $35,000, and a qualifying buyer can get all of it back.

Everything else

• Lawyer or notary. Ask two for a written quote, including their disbursements.
• Home inspection. Get a quote before you write the offer, so the subject date is realistic.
• Adjustments. You repay the seller for property tax or strata fees they've already paid for days after you take over.
• Home insurance, plus title insurance or an appraisal if your lender or lawyer asks for them.
• Moving, and anything the home needs on day one.

At tax time, first-time buyers can also claim the Home Buyers' Amount: a $10,000 amount that's worth up to $1,500 off your federal tax.²⁰

Common mistakes

• Opening the FHSA late. Room only starts when you open the account, so a year's delay is a year's room missed.²
• Shopping at the top of your pre-approval. The stress test sets what the lender allows, not what feels comfortable each month.
• Changing your finances before closing. A new car loan, a job change or a large unexplained deposit can change your approval. Talk to your lender first.
• Forgetting the cash to close. PTT, legal fees and adjustments come on top of the down payment. Run the numbers with the first home calculator.
• Skimming the strata documents. Minutes and the depreciation report show what's coming. Read them before you remove subjects, not after.
• Mixing up the definitions of "first-time buyer." BC's PTT exemption and the federal programs each define it differently. Check each one, or use the program checker.
• Counting on rescission for a presale. Presales have their own 7-day rule under a different law, counted differently.⁹
• Waiving subjects to win. It can make an offer stronger, but it puts the risk on you. Do your financing, inspection and strata homework before you decide.

Read next: which programs fit you, and the area pages for Surrey, Langley, Burnaby and Coquitlam.