It takes 20 years of savings to cover cost of buying a home in Brampton

Published February 24, 2023 at 10:15 am

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Affording a home in Brampton could take decades of saving and cost you more than $200,000 on top of an already high average listing price during the first year of ownership.

From closing costs and down payments to budgeting for mortgage payments, property taxes and homeowners’ insurance, home ownership comes with more initial costs than just the sticker price.

And affording all those upfront and annual costs can take more than a decade’s worth of savings according to a report from real estate company Point2Homes.

The report found owning a home in Brampton will cost an average of $215,623 in upfront and costs in their first year of ownership and another $91,902 annually. The average 20 per cent downpayment for a home in Brampton comes in at $$201,120. After that, new homeowners can expect to spend $$14,503 on closing costs, $1,250 in home insurance and $9,863 in property taxes.

With an average benchmark home price of $1,005,600, Point2Homes says new homeowners can expect to spend $215,623 in total upfront costs and $60,964 in annual mortgage payments.

With an average income of $70,381, it would take 15 years of savings to cover the upfront costs for a home in Brampton and 20 years to cover the first year. By comparison, the time required to save in Mississauga is 16 years for upfront costs and 21 years to cover the first year.

The report found only 15 Canadian cities where home buyers can expect to spend less than $100,000 in first-year costs. And while those first-year costs are high in Brampton, buyers looking elsewhere in Ontario could end up paying much more:

Milton – $295,504

Whitby – $295,730

Richmond Hill – $400,733

Markham – $383,469

Oakville – $378,122

Toronto – $315,031

The report found Edmonton had the shortest savings wait time at seven years.

Point2Homes says the cost of ownership can weigh on potential buyers but recent measures like the  Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act and tax-free First Home Savings Accounts are giving watchers hope that ownership rates might start to see an increase.

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