How to Buy a Home in Ontario: Step-by-Step (2026)

1. Work out your budget and get pre-approved

A mortgage pre-approval tells you how much a lender is prepared to lend, at what rate, and for how long that rate is held. Lenders look at your income, your debts, your credit history and your down payment. Get pre-approved before you view homes so you don't fall for a place you can't finance.

Every federally regulated lender stress-tests you: you must qualify at the greater of 5.25% or your contract rate plus 2 percentage points. For example, if you are offered 4.5%, you must show you can afford the payments at 6.5%. The test decides how much you can borrow, not the rate you pay.

Your budget is not just the mortgage payment. Add property tax, home insurance, utilities, maintenance, and condo fees if you buy a condo. A comfortable budget leaves room for rate changes at renewal.

2. Save your down payment

The federal minimum is 5% of the first $500,000, 10% of the portion from $500,000 up to $1.5 million, and 20% on homes priced at $1.5 million or more. These rules have applied since December 15, 2024, when the price limit for an insured mortgage rose from $1 million to $1.5 million.

First-time buyers can save in a First Home Savings Account (up to $8,000 a year and $40,000 in total) and withdraw up to $60,000 from their RRSPs under the Home Buyers' Plan.

• $450,000 home: at least $22,500
• $800,000 home: at least $55,000
• $1,200,000 home: at least $95,000
• $1,600,000 home: at least $320,000

3. Understand mortgage default insurance

If you put down less than 20%, your mortgage must be insured against default (by CMHC or a private insurer). The premium is a percentage of the loan and is usually added to the mortgage. CMHC's premiums for a purchase are:

• Loan of more than 80% up to 85% of the price: 2.8% of the loan
• Loan of more than 85% up to 90% of the price: 3.1% of the loan
• Loan of more than 90% up to 95% of the price: 4% of the loan
• Example: on a $800,000 home with the minimum $55,000 down, the loan is $745,000 (93.1% of the price), so the premium is 4% — about $29,800.
• Ontario charges provincial sales tax on the premium. It cannot be added to the mortgage, so you pay it in cash at closing.
• Insured mortgages can be amortized over 25 years, or 30 years if you are a first-time buyer or buying a newly built home.

4. Choose who represents you

Since December 1, 2023, Ontario's Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA) requires a brokerage that works with you to represent you under a written representation agreement. Before you sign, the brokerage must give you RECO's information guide. Read the agreement: it sets out the services, how long it lasts, the area it covers and how the brokerage is paid.

You can buy without representation, but you then negotiate and assess the home on your own. Check any agent's registration on RECO's public register.

5. Search, view and judge the price

Shortlist homes using live listings, then judge each asking price against recent sold prices for similar homes nearby, not against other asking prices. Days on market and price changes tell you how much room there is to negotiate.

For a condo, the status certificate matters as much as the unit: it shows the corporation's finances, the reserve fund, any special assessments and legal actions. Have your lawyer review it before you firm up.

6. Make an offer

An offer is made on an Agreement of Purchase and Sale. It sets the price, the deposit, the closing date, what is included (appliances, fixtures) and any conditions. The deposit is usually due shortly after acceptance and is held in trust until closing.

Conditions give you time to check things before the deal becomes binding. Common ones are financing, a home inspection, a lawyer's review of the status certificate for condos, and the sale of your current home. Waiving conditions can win a competitive offer, but if something goes wrong you are still bound to close.

• Financing condition: time to get your mortgage approved on this specific property
• Inspection condition: time to have the home professionally inspected
• Status certificate condition (condos): time for your lawyer to review it
• Sale of your home: protects you if you must sell first, but makes your offer weaker

7. Firm up and finalize the mortgage

Once each condition is met, you sign a waiver or notice of fulfillment and the deal is firm. Your lender may order an appraisal. Send your lawyer the agreement, your lender's details and proof of your down payment early; lenders and lawyers need time before closing.

8. Budget for closing costs

CMHC suggests having 1.5% to 4% of the purchase price available for closing costs. The largest is usually land transfer tax. On a $800,000 home, Ontario's land transfer tax is $12,475. In the City of Toronto you also pay the municipal land transfer tax, $12,475 at that price, for $24,950 in total.

First-time buyers can get up to $4,000 back on the provincial tax and, in Toronto, up to $4,475 on the municipal tax. A first-time buyer of that $800,000 Toronto home would pay $16,475 in land transfer tax.

• Land transfer tax (provincial, plus municipal in Toronto)
• Legal fees and disbursements, including title search and registration
• Title insurance, if your lawyer recommends it
• Adjustments for property tax, utilities or condo fees the seller prepaid
• Provincial sales tax on any mortgage insurance premium
• Home inspection and appraisal fees, if you pay them
• Moving costs and home insurance, which must be in place on closing day
• Buyers who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents may also owe Ontario's 25% Non-Resident Speculation Tax

9. Closing day

Your lawyer receives the mortgage funds and your balance, pays the seller's lawyer, registers the transfer and your mortgage, and releases the keys. Ask your lawyer for the final amount needed a few days ahead so the money is in the right account on time.