First-Time Home Buyer Guide: London, Ontario (2026)

Current image: Jim Straughan First Time Buyer Guide

By Jim Straughan, Broker, Initia Real Estate. Licensed to trade in real estate in Ontario since 1990. Serving London, St. Thomas, Komoka, Kilworth and surrounding communities.

Last updated: August 3, 2026. Figures below reflect the most recent published data from the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR), Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the Canada Revenue Agency, the Government of Ontario and the City of London. Market conditions and program rules change. Verify current details before you commit.

The short version

London is still one of the more accessible entry points into Ontario’s housing market. In June 2026, the average sale price across the LSTAR region was $606,614, down 6.7% year over year, with 4.6 months of inventory on hand. That last number matters more than the price. Four to five months of supply means buyers have choice, time, and room to include conditions in an offer — a very different environment from 2021.

The single most consequential thing happening for first-time buyers right now is not a price trend. It is a tax window. Between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027, a qualifying new home valued at up to $1 million can recover an amount equal to the full 13% HST, to a maximum of $130,000, with different maximums above that price. That window closes. If new construction is on your list, the calendar is now part of your strategy.

What follows is the full picture: what you need to put down, what it costs to close, which programs you can stack, where to look in this city, and what the process actually looks like from pre-approval to keys.

Minimum down payment requirements

CMHC mortgage loan insurance rules set the floor, and they are the same in London as anywhere else in Canada:

$500,000 or less: 5% minimum.
$500,001 to just under $1.5 million: 5% on the first $500,000, plus 10% on the remainder.
$1.5 million and above: 20% minimum. Mortgage default insurance is not available at this price point.

In practical London numbers: a $450,000 townhouse needs $22,500. A $500,000 semi needs $25,000. A $625,000 detached home needs $37,500 — that is $25,000 on the first $500,000 plus $12,500 on the remaining $125,000.

Notice the step at $500,000. A home listed at $499,000 has a materially lower cash requirement than one at $520,000, and it is also the ceiling for the City of London’s assistance program. That threshold shapes a lot of first-time buyer searches in this market.

Where the down payment can come from

Your own savings, an FHSA, an RRSP withdrawal under the Home Buyers’ Plan, or a gift from an immediate family member documented with a gift letter. Lenders will want to see the funds seasoned in your account for roughly 90 days. A borrowed down payment is possible with some lenders but carries a higher insurance premium and tighter qualification.

Mortgage default insurance — and the cost some buyers overlook

Any down payment under 20% requires mortgage default insurance. This protects the lender, not you. It is what makes a 5% purchase possible at all, and insured mortgages generally carry lower interest rates than uninsured ones, so it is not purely a penalty.

Premiums range from roughly 0.60% of the mortgage at 65% loan-to-value up to 4.00% at 95% loan-to-value. The premium is normally added to your mortgage principal rather than paid upfront.

Here is the part that catches people. In Ontario, the 8% provincial retail sales tax on that insurance premium cannot be rolled into the mortgage. It is due in cash on closing day. On a $475,000 mortgage at a 4.00% premium, the premium is $19,000 and the Ontario RST on it is $1,520 — real money, due at the lawyer’s office, that never appears on a mortgage calculator.

Two further points on premiums. CMHC requires at least one borrower or guarantor to have a minimum credit score of 600, and lenders and other insurers can apply higher standards of their own. And where your down payment is gifted, borrowed or otherwise non-traditional at 90.01% to 95% loan-to-value, the premium rises to 4.50% rather than the usual 4.00% — worth knowing before you accept family help without asking how it will be documented.

30-year amortization: what actually changed

This one is widely misstated, including in older articles still ranking on Google. Since December 15, 2024:

First-time buyers can use a 30-year insured amortization on any eligible insured purchase — new construction or resale.
Everyone else can access 30 years only when the home is newly constructed.

The trade-off is a 0.20% surcharge on the insurance premium, and considerably more total interest over the life of the loan. A 30-year amortization is a qualification tool and a cash-flow tool. It is not free money. Many buyers take it for the flexibility, then make lump-sum prepayments once their income grows.

Debt service ratios, the stress test, and pre-approval

Two ratios govern how much a lender will advance. Gross Debt Service (GDS) measures housing costs — mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, heat, and half of condo fees — against gross income. Total Debt Service (TDS) adds all other debt payments. For insured mortgages, the maximums are 39% GDS and 44% TDS. Many lenders apply tighter internal limits, particularly on self-employed or commission income.

You must also qualify at the stress test rate: the greater of your contract rate plus two percentage points, or 5.25%. In round numbers at current pricing, a buyer taking a mortgage near 4% is qualified as though they were paying near 6%. That gap is the whole reason pre-approvals come in lower than buyers expect. Budget accordingly.

Get a full pre-approval before you look at a single property. Not a rate quote. Not an online estimate. A pre-approval with documents reviewed — income verification, credit pull, down payment confirmation. It tells you your real ceiling, holds a rate for 90 to 120 days, and tells a listing agent that your offer is serious. In a market with choice, the buyer who can act cleanly still wins the good properties.

Where rates sit

Market snapshot — as of August 3, 2026. The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on July 15, 2026, its sixth consecutive hold, leaving prime at 4.45% for most lenders. The next scheduled decision is September 2, 2026. Through late July, competitive insured five-year fixed rates were running just below to just above 4%, with insured variable meaningfully lower. Fixed pricing has been drifting upward with Government of Canada bond yields.

Rates move daily, so treat any published number as a starting point and not a quote. More importantly, the lowest advertised rate is not necessarily the lowest-cost mortgage. When you compare offers, look at:

The contract rate and the annual percentage rate
Prepayment privileges — how much you can pay down each year without penalty
How the fixed-rate penalty is calculated, which is where the real money hides on an early payout
Portability, if there is any chance you move before the term ends
Refinance restrictions, including no-frills products that lock you to one lender
Whether the mortgage is registered as a standard charge or a collateral charge

Advertised best-available rates also carry conditions — short closing windows, limited prepayment, specific property types. Talk to two mortgage brokers before you assume anything.

Federal programs for first-time buyers

First Home Savings Account (FHSA)

The strongest tool available, and the one most first-time buyers underuse. Contribute up to $8,000 per year to a $40,000 lifetime maximum. Contributions are tax-deductible like an RRSP. Qualifying withdrawals for a first home are tax-free like a TFSA. Nothing is repaid.

Unused annual room carries forward, but only after you open an account — so open one even if you cannot fund it yet. A couple who both maximize can reach $80,000 in FHSA contributions alone, before growth.

Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)

Withdraw up to $60,000 tax-free from your RRSP, or $120,000 for a qualifying couple. Funds must have been in the RRSP at least 90 days. Repayment is 1/15 per year back into the RRSP, and a missed repayment is added to your taxable income for that year.

The FHSA and HBP can be used together on the same purchase. Federal legislation passed in June 2026 extended the repayment grace period for certain HBP withdrawals; because the timing rules are technical and depend on your withdrawal year, confirm your specific repayment start date with your accountant rather than a blog post.

First-Time Home Buyers’ GST Rebate

New in 2026 and frequently missed. Bill C-4 received Royal Assent on March 12, 2026, creating a federal rebate that returns the full 5% GST on a qualifying new home priced up to $1 million — a maximum of $50,000 — phasing down to zero between $1 million and $1.5 million.

It applies where the agreement of purchase and sale with the builder was signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, and it uses a four-year look-back: neither you nor your spouse can have occupied a home either of you owned in the current calendar year or the four preceding years. It can only be claimed once in a lifetime, and a spouse’s prior claim disqualifies you. Builders may credit it at closing; if not, you apply directly to CRA afterward.

Home Buyers’ Amount

A federal non-refundable tax credit. Claim $10,000 on your return for a net benefit of roughly $1,500. Small, but it is a line on a form you are already filing.

Ontario programs

Temporary Ontario new-home HST relief — up to $130,000

This is the headline. Ontario announced an enhanced new housing rebate in March 2026 and the machinery was completed over the spring, with the relief retroactive to April 1, 2026.

Eligible purchases valued at up to $1 million may recover an amount equal to the full 13% HST, to a maximum of $130,000. Different maximums and phase-down rules apply above $1 million. In tiers:

Up to $1 million: relief can equal the full 13%, to a maximum of $130,000.
$1 million to $1.5 million: the maximum remains $130,000, so it is no longer the full 13% of the price.
$1.5 million to approximately $1.85 million: relief declines.
At and above approximately $1.85 million: the enhanced portion has effectively phased out, though the existing Ontario rebate structure may still provide up to $24,000 of provincial relief.

The $130,000 is built from two provincial pieces, not one provincial and one federal. The Ontario enhanced new housing rebate returns up to $80,000 of the 8% provincial portion, and Ontario provides a further top-up equivalent to a maximum of the 5% federal portion. You must be eligible for and have received the enhanced rebate to get the top-up, and the top-up is paid separately by the province after the main rebate is assessed. The federal First-Time Home Buyers’ GST Rebate described above is a different program with its own $50,000 cap — related, but not the same money.

Critically, this is not limited to first-time buyers. Repeat buyers and buyers of long-term rental property can qualify. The gating conditions are dates:

Agreement of purchase and sale signed with the builder between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027.
For a primary residence: construction begins on or before December 31, 2028 and is substantially complete by December 31, 2031.
For long-term rental: construction substantially complete by December 31, 2029.

Ontario’s finance minister described it plainly as a one-year sale. If you are considering a build in Summerside, Northridge, Cedar Hollow, Talbot Village, Kilworth or Komoka, the signing date is now a financial decision, not just a scheduling one.

Assignment purchases require special care. For the temporary Ontario enhanced rebate, both the original agreement with the builder and the assignment agreement must generally be dated between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027. An assignment dated within the window will not rescue an original agreement signed before April 1, 2026. There is also a second layer most buyers miss: the assignment premium paid to the original purchaser is a separate taxable supply, and HST on that premium is not covered by the rebate. Have the dates and the rebate clauses reviewed before making the offer firm.

A related warning: builders have been asked to re-sign, amend or terminate pre-April agreements so buyers can qualify. Anti-avoidance rules exist precisely for this, and these arrangements attract scrutiny. Do not go down that road.

Do not assume the rebate will reduce the amount required on closing. Builders may credit eligible rebates at closing once the appropriate CRA forms are available, and where that happens the money never leaves your pocket. Where it does not happen, you pay the HST and claim it back afterward, and processing timelines have moved more than once. Obtain written confirmation from your builder and your lawyer showing which rebates are credited in the statement of adjustments, which must be claimed afterward, and how much cash you need if CRA processing is delayed.

Ontario Land Transfer Tax first-time buyer refund

Up to $4,000. That fully eliminates provincial land transfer tax on homes priced at approximately $368,000 or less. Above that, you receive the full $4,000 and pay the balance.

To qualify you must be at least 18, occupy the home as your principal residence within nine months, and never have owned an interest in a home anywhere in the world. Your spouse’s ownership history can affect your claim, though a proportionate refund may be available if they owned before you became spouses. Your lawyer normally claims it electronically at registration so you never front the money.

London’s structural advantage: London does not impose a separate municipal land transfer tax. Toronto purchasers may face a second municipal land transfer tax, subject to Toronto’s own first-time buyer rebate. For a London buyer, that is one entire line item that never appears on the statement of adjustments.

If you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident

A buyer who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident may be prohibited from completing certain residential purchases under federal law, and may also face Ontario’s 25% Non-Resident Speculation Tax. The federal prohibition currently runs to January 1, 2027 and applies in Census Metropolitan Areas, which includes London. Exemptions exist under both regimes, and rebates of the provincial tax are available in some circumstances, but federal eligibility and Ontario tax treatment are separate tests and passing one says nothing about the other.

Obtain a lawyer’s written opinion before submitting an offer or paying a non-refundable deposit. The penalties on the federal side can include a forced resale, and this is not an area to work out after the fact.

Ontario Renovates

Ontario Renovates is generally a post-purchase repair and accessibility program for qualifying current homeowners, not a purchase program. In London it is aimed at homeowners aged 60 or older and persons with disabilities, and it carries its own income, asset, ownership and assessed-value tests — including a household income ceiling of $95,000, liquid assets at or below $30,000, and a property tax assessment value at or below $320,000. The assistance takes the form of a one-time 10-year forgivable loan of up to $25,000, with the first $5,000 provided as a grant where accessibility modifications are approved.

Do not include it in your purchase budget or assume compatibility with the City down payment loan unless the City confirms eligibility in writing. It is worth knowing about for later, particularly if you are buying a home you intend to age in.

The City of London Homeownership Down Payment Assistance Program

Relaunched in October 2025 and funded through the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative in partnership with the federal and provincial governments. This is the most valuable local program available, and it is widely misdescribed.

What you get: an interest-free loan covering up to 5% of the purchase price, to a maximum of $25,000, registered as a second mortgage and automatically forgiven on the 20th anniversary if no default has occurred.

It is not a first-time buyer program. The criteria are:

At least 18 years old.
You cannot currently own residential property anywhere, in whole or in part — including a cottage or recreational property — and cannot be in a spousal relationship with someone who does. Past ownership does not disqualify you if you are currently renting.
You must currently be a renter in London or Middlesex County, with a lease and a landlord who is not a relative.
Maximum household liquid assets: $100,000.
Maximum gross household income: $113,700, counting everyone 18 and over.
Maximum purchase price: $500,000. There are no exceptions to this ceiling.
Mortgage insurance is required. A home inspection is mandatory on resale homes, at your expense.
You must occupy the home for the term and cannot rent it out, including individual rooms.

The repayment terms deserve a careful read. If you sell before 20 years, you repay the original 5% assistance plus 5% of any realized capital gain. Renovation spending cannot be deducted from that gain. Ceasing to occupy the home as your primary residence is treated as a sale. If you sell at a loss in an arm’s-length transaction at verified fair market value, repayment can be waived.

Two practical notes. As of April 5, 2026, applicants must supply a 2025 Notice of Assessment from CRA. And funding is first-come, first-served until it is depleted — the City has said the fund supports roughly 100 to 150 households. You apply after making an offer, so build in a closing date of 30 days or more and expect an eligibility decision within about five business days on a complete application. Using a London-based lawyer avoids delays in cheque delivery.

What it all adds up to: a worked London example

Consider a couple renting in London, buying a $480,000 townhouse in south London as their first home, with combined gross income of $105,000.

Minimum down payment at 5%: $24,000
City of London assistance at 5%: up to $24,000 (interest-free, forgivable)
FHSA and HBP withdrawals: tax-advantaged, drawn from their own savings
Ontario land transfer tax: $6,075, less the $4,000 first-time refund = $2,075 payable
Federal Home Buyers’ Amount at tax time: about $1,500
Mortgage insurance premium at 95% LTV: added to the mortgage, with roughly $1,459 in Ontario RST due in cash at closing

One caution on the stacking: the City’s assistance is registered as a second charge on title, and lenders do not all treat it the same way when sizing the first mortgage and the insurance premium. Confirm the treatment with your mortgage broker before you assume the two down payment figures simply add together.

Stacked properly, that is real money — and none of it happens automatically. Every one of these requires an application, a form, or a clause in an agreement. This is the part where an agent, a mortgage broker and a lawyer who talk to each other earn their fee.

Closing costs in London, Ontario

Plan for 1.5% to 4% of the purchase price on top of your down payment. Typical components:

Legal fees and disbursements: $1,500 – $2,500
Title insurance: $250 – $500
Home inspection: $400 – $700
Ontario land transfer tax: net of the first-time buyer refund
Ontario 8% RST on mortgage insurance premium: cash at closing, not financeable
Property tax and utility adjustments: reimbursing the seller for prepaid amounts
Appraisal, if required: $300 – $500
Status certificate, for condominiums: capped at $100 including HST
Moving, utility hookups, locks, immediate repairs: the line everyone forgets

On a $400,000 to $500,000 London property, net closing costs after the land transfer tax refund commonly land between $6,000 and $12,000. New construction adds its own: Tarion enrolment fees, development charge and levy adjustments, and occupancy-period costs on condominiums. Ask for the builder’s estimate of closing adjustments in writing before you sign, and have a lawyer read the agreement during the 10-day cooling-off period on a new condominium.

Best Affordable London neighbourhoods for first-time buyers

Where you buy shapes both your daily life and your resale position five years out. A few areas consistently serve first-time budgets well.

East London — Argyle, Hamilton Road, the Fanshawe corridor. The lowest entry prices in the city. London East recorded an average sale price of $476,844 in May 2026, against a citywide average well above that. Two different measures get quoted for this area and they are not interchangeable: an average sale price is simply total dollars divided by number of sales and swings with the mix of what sold that month, while the MLS® HPI benchmark price tracks a typical home and is the better gauge of trend. Detached and semi-detached homes here frequently trade below $500,000, which also keeps them inside the City assistance program ceiling. Ongoing revitalization along Dundas Street and the East London Link transit project are meaningful medium-term factors.

South London — White Oaks, Pond Mills, Westminster. Family-oriented streets, established parks and schools, straightforward Highway 401 access for commuters to Woodstock or Kitchener. A good mix of modest detached homes and townhouses. London South carries a higher average, so the value here is in the specific pocket rather than the postal code.

Near Western University and the Richmond Street corridor. Condominium apartments are the entry point, and they have softened more than any other property type — apartment averages were down roughly 11% year over year in May. For a single professional or a couple wanting low maintenance and walkability, this is currently the most negotiable segment in the city.

Summerside, Northridge, Cedar Hollow, Talbot Village. Newer construction with modern layouts and energy efficiency. Given the HST rebate window, this is where the 2026 math has changed most dramatically. Run the after-rebate number, not the sticker price.

Byron and Oakridge. Established, treed, trail-connected, strong schools. The top end of most first-time budgets, but the resale depth here is excellent.

Komoka, Kilworth, Lambeth and St. Thomas. Worth a look if you can absorb a commute. St. Thomas in particular has drawn buyers priced out of London, with the Volkswagen PowerCo battery plant reshaping the local employment picture.

Whatever the area, weigh commute time honestly, check the actual school catchment rather than assuming, look at LTC transit routes if you are a one-car household, and search the City’s development applications for anything planned near your street.

What ownership costs after closing

Property taxes are based on the property’s MPAC assessment and the applicable municipal and education tax rates — not on what you pay for the home. Assessments are still anchored to January 1, 2016 values, since the province-wide reassessment remains postponed, so your assessment will look nothing like today’s market value. That is normal. It also means you cannot estimate your tax bill by multiplying the sale price by a citywide percentage; that method will mislead you, usually upward.

Do this instead: get the property’s actual current tax bill, which your agent can obtain, and have your lawyer confirm the taxes and the closing adjustments. For context on the trend, Council approved a 2026 property tax increase of roughly 3.4%. Water and wastewater are billed separately on usage and should be budgeted on their own rather than folded into a single household figure.

Beyond taxes: home insurance, utilities, condominium fees where applicable, and maintenance. A useful planning figure for an older London home is 1% of the purchase price annually for maintenance and replacement reserves. Roofs, furnaces and windows do not care about your mortgage payment schedule.

Affordability strategies worth knowing

Additional residential units. London permits additional residential units on most residential properties, subject to zoning, building code and licensing requirements. A legal secondary suite can materially change a property’s affordability, and some lenders will count a portion of documented rental income toward qualification. Get the legality confirmed before you count on the income — an “in-law suite” is not the same thing as a legal ARU.

The City has also run time-limited ARU construction incentives, most recently offering up to $20,000 for a new unit without rent restrictions and up to $45,000 for affordable or Indigenous-led units. Read the conditions before you build a budget around them: the current stream requires the building permit to be issued by September 7, 2026, carries a minimum 10-year rental commitment secured by a lien on title, requires the primary dwelling to remain owner-occupied, requires an annually renewed Residential Rental Unit Licence, and prohibits short-term rental use. If you are only beginning your search now, that permit deadline is realistically out of reach — treat it as something to watch for in the next intake rather than money you can count on. Confirm availability and property eligibility with the City before including any incentive or rental suite in your affordability calculation.

Purchase plus improvements — formally, CMHC Improvement. This is the program behind the strategy, and it allows qualifying renovation costs to be incorporated into insured purchase financing based on the home’s expected improved value. It lets you buy a dated but structurally sound home in a good area and fund the kitchen or the windows at mortgage rates rather than credit card rates.

How it works in practice: you obtain contractor quotes before closing, the lender approves the improvement amount, and your lawyer holds those funds back. The money is normally released after the work is completed and inspected. That means you must be able to carry the renovation costs temporarily and meet the lender’s completion deadlines — a real constraint if your contractor is booked out three months.

Buying with family or a co-purchaser. Increasingly common. Also legally complex. If you go this route, a co-ownership agreement drafted by a lawyer covering exit, default, occupancy and capital contributions is not optional.

BetterHomes London. Launched by the City in spring 2026, this program offers eligible homeowners low-interest financing of up to $40,000 at a fixed 2.5% for qualifying energy work — insulation, windows, heat pumps and similar upgrades. Repayment runs through your property taxes over a 10 to 20 year term, and the remaining balance can transfer to the next owner if you sell before it is repaid. Income- and savings-based incentives of up to $10,000 are applied against the loan balance after the work is complete. The program requires a minimum project value and a minimum energy-use reduction, and most participants pay for an initial energy assessment first.

It is a post-purchase program, but it belongs in your thinking now: it changes the arithmetic when you are weighing a dated but well-located resale against a newer, more efficient home. An older house with poor insulation is not automatically the more expensive choice once financing for the retrofit exists.

Consider the whole cost, not the price. A $520,000 new build with the HST rebate applied can cost less in total than a $470,000 resale needing a roof, furnace and windows. Run both.

The buying process, step by step

Confirm your status and your credit. Pull your report. Target 680 or higher for the best pricing; 600 is the insurer floor. Correct errors early — they take weeks to resolve.
Open and fund an FHSA, even minimally, to start the contribution room clock.
Get a full mortgage pre-approval. Documents reviewed, rate held. Ask specifically about 30-year amortization eligibility and about how the lender treats the City assistance loan as a second charge.
Engage a buyer’s agent. Before receiving real estate services and representation, establish the relationship clearly in a written representation agreement. A buyer may instead remain self-represented, but an agent representing another party cannot provide that buyer with services, opinions or advice in the trade. Read the agreement, and ask what its term is and whether it is limited to certain areas or property types.
Search with your program constraints in view. The $500,000 ceiling for City assistance and the April 2026 to March 2027 HST window are search parameters, not afterthoughts.
Have your agent write a properly conditioned offer. With 4.6 months of inventory, conditions on financing and inspection are ordinarily achievable. Use them.
Inspect thoroughly. On resale, a full inspection. On condominiums, order and have your lawyer review the status certificate — reserve fund adequacy, special assessments, pending litigation, rules on pets and rentals.
Apply for the City program immediately after your offer is accepted, if you qualify. Funds are limited and processed in order.
Hold your finances still. No new credit, no vehicle financing, no job changes between conditional and closing. Lenders re-verify. Deals die here.
Retain a real estate lawyer early. Title search, agreement review, land transfer tax refund, rebate paperwork, funds transfer. Choosing a London lawyer avoids delays if City assistance is involved.

Choosing an agent in London, Ontario

Check out my about page for my Biography to help determine, if you’d like to work with me.

About Jim Straughan, Broker

For first-time buyers, experience ,professionalism and program fluency matters more than sales volume or slick self promotion. An agent who does not know that the City program has a hard $500,000 ceiling, or that a new-build signing date now carries a five-figure tax consequence, will cost you more than they save you. The right team coordinates early, explains trade-offs plainly, and tells you when a property is wrong for you.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I need for a down payment in London, Ontario?

Five percent on homes at $500,000 or less. Above that, 5% on the first $500,000 plus 10% on the balance up to just under $1.5 million. At $1.5 million and over, 20% and no insurance available. On a $500,000 London home, that is $25,000.

Can I get the HST back on a new home in London in 2026?

Yes, if your agreement with the builder is signed between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027. On a qualifying new home valued up to $1 million, relief can equal the full 13% HST, to a maximum of $130,000. Above $1 million the maximum holds at $130,000 to $1.5 million, then declines to $24,000 by roughly $1.85 million. It applies to all eligible buyers, not only first-time buyers, and construction timing conditions apply. Assignments must clear the dates on both the original and the assignment agreement.

Is the City of London down payment assistance only for first-time buyers?

No. You must currently rent in London or Middlesex County and not currently own residential property anywhere. Previous ownership does not automatically disqualify you. The loan is up to 5% of the price to a maximum of $25,000, interest-free, forgiven after 20 years.

What are closing costs on a first home in London?

Roughly 1.5% to 4% of the price. On a $450,000 home, commonly $6,000 to $12,000 — legal fees, title insurance, inspection, land transfer tax net of the refund, adjustments, and the Ontario 8% sales tax on your mortgage insurance premium, which is due in cash.

Does London have a municipal land transfer tax?

No. Only Toronto has one. London buyers pay the provincial tax only, which is a meaningful structural saving.

Can I use the FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan together?

Yes, on the same purchase. FHSA: $8,000 per year, $40,000 lifetime, no repayment. HBP: up to $60,000 per person from an RRSP, repaid over 15 years.

What credit score do I need?

CMHC requires at least one borrower or guarantor to have a score of at least 600. Lenders and other insurers may set higher standards. A score of 680 is a useful target for competitive pricing, but it does not by itself guarantee the lowest rate.

How long is a pre-approval good for?

Typically 90 to 120 days for the rate hold. Long enough to bridge one Bank of Canada decision.

Is now a good time to buy in London?

That depends entirely on your situation, not the market’s. What is objectively true: inventory is at 4.6 months, prices are below their 2022 peak, conditions are ordinarily accepted in offers, and there is a tax window on new construction that expires March 31, 2027. Whether that adds up to your right time is a conversation about your income stability, how long you plan to stay, and what you can carry at the stress-test rate.

Talk it through

If you are thinking about a first purchase in London, St. Thomas, Komoka, Kilworth or anywhere in Middlesex County, I am happy to walk through the numbers with you — no obligation, no pressure.

Jim Straughan, Broker
Initia Real Estate
Phone: 519 872 6616
Email: brokerjim@proton.me
Web: houseforsalelondonontario.com

Licensed to trade in real estate in Ontario since 1990, with more than three decades in the London market and 25+ years working alongside a London custom home builder.

Sources and currency. Market data: London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®, June 2026 statistics. Mortgage rules: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Department of Finance Canada reforms effective December 15, 2024. FHSA, Home Buyers’ Plan and Home Buyers’ Amount: Canada Revenue Agency. First-Time Home Buyers’ GST Rebate: Bill C-4, Royal Assent March 12, 2026. Ontario enhanced new housing rebate: Ontario’s 2026 Budget, the federal New Harmonized Value-added Tax System Regulations, No. 2, Ontario Regulation 196/26 and CRA Notice 346. Land transfer tax: Ontario Ministry of Finance. Non-resident purchase prohibition: Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, extended to January 1, 2027. Homeownership Down Payment Assistance Program, Ontario Renovates, BetterHomes London and additional residential unit incentives: City of London. Rates: Bank of Canada announcement of July 15, 2026 and market rate surveys as of late July 2026.

Disclaimer. This guide is general information, not legal, tax, accounting or mortgage advice. Program rules, rates and eligibility criteria change, and individual circumstances vary. Confirm all details with a licensed mortgage professional, a real estate lawyer and your accountant before acting. Prepared by Jim Straughan, Broker, Initia Real Estate.