Home and apartment down payments nearly double in Hamilton-Burlington region: report

Hamilton-Burlington home and apartment owners have seen their minimum down payments almost double since 2018 while people in St. John’s are not experiencing as big a change this year.

When it comes to the increase in minimum down payments for detached homes and apartments, the Hamilton-Burlington region ranked high among Canadian cities.

According to Zoocasa’s latest study, the region saw the minimum down payment for a benchmark detached house rise by $34,640 from $34,890 in July 2018 to $69,530 in July 2023. 

This meant that Hamilton-Burlington had the sixth greatest increase in minimum down payments for detached homes out of 20 Canadian cities and regions.

Over the past five years, the study found most cities and regions experienced less than a $20,000 increase in the required minimum down payment for a detached home, including Calgary, Montreal, Winnipeg and Regina. Canada experienced imbalance in price growth since five cities saw those payments climb by only less than $5,000.

The benchmark detached house price in Hamilton-Burlington was $945,300 this July. In July 2018, it was $598,900 with a minimum down payment of $34,890.   

Greater Toronto was No. 1 with its minimum down payment quadrupling, growing a whopping $212,660 from July 2018 to $277,780 this July on a benchmark-priced home of $1,388,900.  In 2018, buyers in Greater Toronto had to pay a minimum down payment of $65,120 on a benchmark-priced home of $901,200. Fraser Valley and Victoria in B.C. were among those with a change in down payment of over $100,000.

Greater Vancouver had the highest minimum down payment of $402,980 for a benchmark home price of $2,014,900. 

Edmonton had the smallest increase at $1,405, followed by Regina ($1,625), St. John’s ($2,570), Winnipeg ($4,015) and Saskatoon ($4,275).

St. John’s had the smallest minimum down payment on the list at $14,760. 

Zoocasa compared down payment minimums for detached homes and apartments today to those five years ago in 20 cities and regions across Canada. The online real estate platform compared the figures from July 2023 to those of July 2018 to see how much or little prices have changed. 

Hamilton-Burlington sees second biggest bump in payments for apartments

Also, Zoocasa calculated the minimum down payment homebuyers need for a benchmark apartment today compared to five years ago when many markets saw falling home prices.

In the Hamilton-Burlington region, the down payment needed in July 2023 nearly doubled, climbing by $13,320 from $17,420 in July 2018 to $30,740 this July with a benchmark apartment price of $557,400. In July 2018, the benchmark apartment price was $348,400. 

For apartments, Hamilton-Burlington had the second greatest increase in minimum down payment in July 2023 compared to the 2018 period out of 20 cities and regions.

Greater Toronto was No. 1 with a $23,380 bump. 

In Greater Toronto, the benchmark apartment price was $728,000 with a minimum down payment of $47,800 this July. That’s compared to  $488,400 for a benchmark apartment with $24,420 minimum down payment in July 2018.

Edmonton was the place with the smallest change in the apartment down payment for July 2023 (down $1,365), followed by Regina (up $855), Saskatoon (up $1,075), Winnipeg (up $1,090) and St. John’s (up $1,380).

Benchmark home prices were sourced from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Minimum down payment amounts were calculated based on five per cent of the purchase price for homes valued at $500,000 and under, 10 per cent for the portions of home prices between $500,001 to $999,999, and 20 per cent for homes priced at $1 million and over. 

Click here to read the full study.