~7-in-10 Canadians see the market as unfair to first-time buyers, and the starting point is honest expectations around sacrifice, goals, and trade-offs.
Pre-approval matters because minimum down payments rise with price, lenders may ask for more, and monthly affordability depends on income, debts, insurance, closing costs, upkeep.
Savings tools include a first-home savings account with up to $8K yearly and $40K total, plus a tax-free retirement-plan withdrawal option for buyers.
Beyond savings accounts and retirement-plan tools, buyers may qualify for a $1.5K federal credit, new-home tax rebates, and provincial or local assistance.
Stay grounded: use local board and portal data, set a bidding ceiling, focus on must-haves, and lean on trusted Real Estate and mortgage pros.

Canada’s foreign-buyer ban is set to expire January 1, 2027, and federal officials are exploring rules steering offshore money toward new construction and redevelopment.
Housing supply remains central: the housing agency says Canada must roughly double annual starts over the next decade, from ~259K now to 430K-480K.
The model under review would allow foreign purchases of new construction and vacant land, while keeping existing homes off-limits to direct capital toward supply.
Current rules already include some exemptions for vacant land, redevelopment and certain publicly traded entities in Canada, and they apply mainly across Canada’s urban markets.
Mortgage brokers, agents, lawyers and notaries have a stake in the policy shift, and current rules make protective contract provisions especially important.
As the 2027 expiry nears, policymakers are expected to sort access by property type and development intent, reopening targeted segments to foreign capital.